The Hakka Affairs Council (HAC) joined TiBE through the Hakka Pavilion for the second time this year. HAC Minister Gu Show-faye mentioned that HAC has two major aims at the event: 1) shining a public spotlight on new literary works from the past year; and 2) sharing its future plans, namely, to collaborate with Mirror Fiction to deeply integrate “words, language, and literature”. Together, they will publish seven works spanning poetry, prose, and novels, which will undergo “full audification”. Audiobooks are expected to release before the end of the year for free listening by all. In addition, the next phase will promote the adaptation of Hakka literature into picture books, comics, and film and TV shows, fostering Hakka culture through diverse media.
Themed on the design concept “hag`in sang´”—a conversation between classic and contemporary—a lineup of 32 Hakka literary salons and epochal film screenings took place from February 3 to 8, over just six days. The Hakka Pavilion included promotion of new books by Hakka authors at “sin´sang´”; introduction of local efforts by youth in Hakka villages and the time travel turntable of Hakka vinyl records at “kiungˊ´sang´”; showcase of the compilation and restoration process of a large classic text in “in`sang´”; exploration of the dialogue between timeless texts and the contemporary era to derive new meaning for our times at “liuˋ`sang´”; exhibition of photographs from ordinary people’s everyday lives and the daring dream of settling the rainforest in “hienˋ iangˇ”; and picture book storytelling and explanation of the secrets of tea nests for kids in “tungˇsang´”. What’s more, a screening series of children’s films and old movies My Native Land and The Story of A Small Town allowed visitors to relive the youthful love story between Joan Lin and Kenny Bee in Meinong, Kaohsiung and Sanyi, Miaoli. HAC also thoughtfully selected nearly 1,500 books of 364 types for recommendation, as to convey the local culture and customs of Hakka villages through literature, food, and photography.
