Taiwanese comic artists were among the big winners at the Japan International Manga Award, taking the top prize and winning two of the nine bronzes, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.
The gold was won by Jason Chien (簡嘉誠) for his comic book Wind Chaser Under the Blue Sky (青空下的追風少年), a story inspired by historical documents about Taiwan’s railways from the National Archives Administration.
Set near the end of World War II, it tells of two teenagers of Taiwanese and Japanese descent who dream of setting sprinting records by running against trains.
Photo Courtesy of the Taiwan Culture Center in Tokyo
The Taiwanese entries that won bronzes were 207th Bone (二零七之骨) by Lin I-chen (林奕辰) and Tomoe’s Memories of Koumeya vol. 2 (友繪的小梅屋記事簿2) by Shimizu (清水).
Lin’s 207th Bone follows a girl on her quest to break from the bonds of family tradition, while Tomoe’s Memories of Koumeya joins a third-generation restaurant owner on her journey to discover gourmet dishes.
The event handed out one gold, three silvers, nine bronzes and two special encouragement awards.
Chien was the second Taiwanese to win the top prize after Rimui (韋蘺若明) won it in 2020.
Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) said that Taiwanese comic artists have regularly received global acclaim in the past few years.
His ministry would continue to support the comic arts in the creative production chain, Shih said.
The Japan International Manga Award was founded in 2007 by the Japanese ministry to promote manga culture and only accepts foreign submissions. At the 17th awards this year, it received a record 587 submissions from 82 countries and regions, it said.
There were 83 works submitted from China, the most of all regions, followed by 69 from Taiwan and 39 from the US, it said.
An awards ceremony is to be held in March.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
As Taiwan celebrated its baseball team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 on Sunday, how politicians referred to the team in their congratulatory messages reflected the nation’s political divide. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北隊), made history with its first-ever Premier12 championship after beating Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Right after the game, President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated the team via a post on his Facebook page. Besides the players, Lai also lauded the team’s coaching and medical staff, and the fans cheering for them in Tokyo or watching the live broadcast, saying that “every
RSS