Writer Huang Chun-ming (黃春明) has decided to shut down the Red Brick House cafe and literary salon in Yilan County after the Yilan County Council slashed funds earmarked for subsidizing the cafe in the next fiscal year over allegations that the Yilan County Government was lining Huang’s pockets.
Visiting the cafe for the last time on Monday, before it officially closes tomorrow, Huang said he intended to wait for the county government to settle the issue with the council.
Huang, who published his first novel in 1956 and has since established himself as a major proponent of Taiwan’s “nativist literature” movement, said he hopes to take a rest and continue working on The Season of the Longan (龍眼的季節), a long novel that features himself as the main character.
Photo: Chiang Chih-hsiung, Taipei Times
Huang said he conceived the idea of the novel five decades ago, adding that it is only half-finished and that he hopes to complete it soon.
He said he plans to stage a closing ceremony tomorrow, including a speech recounting the cafe’s history over the past three years, adding that he hopes to overcome a sense of sadness about the closure by telling jokes and stories.
“I feel grateful for the amount of support I have received over the incident,” he said, adding that the cafe would always have a place in his heart.
Huang said he has received support from friends and colleagues within the arts and culture industries, adding that such people had voiced regrets over the cafe’s closure and called for its preservation.
Writer Liao Yu-hui (廖玉蕙) said that culture should not be subject to political oppression, adding that she, along with National Cheng Chi University professor Chen Fang-ming (陳芳明) and 20 other writers, would be attending a closing ceremony at the cafe.
Netizens have started an online petition in hopes of preserving the cafe and enabling Huang to continue running the salon.
The county government said that management of the Red Brick House cafe has been handed over to the Yilan County Cultural Affairs Bureau, adding that the cafe would undergo maintenance, including the development of space for exhibits and displays.
Huang is to be consulted over all maintenance proposals, the county government said, adding that once it had reached a consensus with the county council, it would again approach Huang with a commission offer.
All subsidy funding is to be provided via application to central government subsidies or from fundraising in the private sector, the county government said.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS