20110707 Opposition questions comic fest choice

Opposition questions comic fest choice

CREATIVITY: The GIO said it decided to go with the Chambery comics festival, instead of the one at Angouleme, because it didn’t have time to prepare for the larger event

By Vincent Y. Chao and Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff Reporters

Taiwan has turned down an opportunity to join an exhibition as a “theme country” in a renowned European comic convention, prompting criticism from opposition lawmakers yesterday over the government’s commitment to participating in international activities.

The organizers of the Angouleme International Comics Festival, the largest of its kind in Europe, had invited Taiwan to take part in the convention next year as a theme country, but the Taiwanese government rejected the invitation.

Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Philip Yang (楊永明) defended the decision at a press conference, saying “it was simply due to limited budget resources and manpower,” making it difficult for the government to prepare for the event in such a short period.

“But we will not skip the Angouleme International Comic Festival [altogether] in January. Despite not being a theme country at the event, we will still maintain a presence as a guest country at the convention,” Yang said.

He said a bid would be launched to have Taiwan chosen as a theme country in 2013, when the comics festival celebrates its 40th anniversary.

The GIO added that Taiwan had also been chosen as a theme country at another convention — the Chambery Comic Book Festival — in October. The festival is the second-largest in France and is expected to attract about 300,000 participants, he said.

Stephen Chang (張崇仁), director of the GIO’s Department of Publication Affairs, said that two Taiwanese comic artists — Selena Lin (林青惠) and AKRU — had made their official debut in France at the 34th Chambery Comic Book Festival last year.

More Taiwan-published comic books and original manuscripts would be displayed at the festival this year, in addition to the participation of four Taiwanese comic artists, he said.

When asked why the GIO opted for Chambery instead of the festival at Angouleme, which draws upwards of 400,000 visitors every year, Yang said the organizer of the Chambery event had offered Taiwan preferential terms and conditions, including free exhibition site and room and board discounts for artists.

Comic artists Mickeyman (米奇鰻) and Ponjea (彭傑), along with Debut Wang (王士豪), general manager of the publishing firm the Friendly Land Creative Co, were at the news conference to lend their support to the GIO.

“As a comic artist, what is important is that I can produce more work. Even though Taiwan is not a theme country at the Angouleme International Comics Festival, I will also be there as a visitor,” Mickeyman said.

He added that the government would do better to spend the money subsidizing comic artists if attending an international comics festival would cost tens of millions of NT dollars.

Taiwanese artists and publishers have become a regular fixture at the Angouleme International Comics Festival since 1995.

The GIO’s rejection of the Angouleme festival’s invitation was greeted with dismay by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which said it was the type of international participation that Taiwan should be focusing on — an exhibition of soft power.

“I can’t believe it,” DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said, calling the GIO’s decision a setback for Taiwanese artists. “This type of announcement shows that the government simply doesn’t care about our creative enterprises.”

Yeh and other DPP lawmakers questioned whether Chinese pressure could have been a factor in the rejection because of the wording of Taiwanese participation as a “theme country.”

According to the Chinese-language China Times, which first reported the story yesterday, organizers had invited Taiwan to attend the festival after expressing interest in several works by Taiwanese artists.

First held in 1974, the Angouleme festival has become a regular fixture on the comic scene, giving out prestigious internationally recognized prizes. Earlier this year, Taiwan Comix, a collection of works by 12 Taiwanese artists, finished among the seven finalists for the Alternative Comics Award.