Taiwanese American writer and translator Lin King (金翎), who last year received recognition for her translation of Yang Shuang-zi’s (楊雙子) 2024 novel “Taiwan Travelogue,” said in a recent talk that Taiwan is the only country in the Chinese-speaking world free from literary censorship. Speaking to attendees at the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA), King added that gaining broader global recognition for Taiwanese literature remains a “long battle.”

King recently traveled to Canada to participate in the festival and to promote the novel to the English-speaking world. The event was co-hosted by the Taiwan Centers for Mandarin Learning in New York and Toronto, with support from the University of Toronto and Formosa Association of Student Cultural Ambassadors (FASCA) volunteers. This past Sunday, she joined a literary discussion at TIFA in which she remarked that Taiwan publishes the only literature in the Chinese-speaking world that is untouched by a censorship system. 

“What makes Taiwanese literature unique is freedom of expression; this is the essence of literature. If writers must constantly worry about whether a book can be published, or whether they might be imprisoned or exiled for writing it, how could they create authentic works that contain genuine reflections and commentaries on life as they know it?” she said.

King also mentioned that while she holds dual citizenship in Taiwan and the United States, she believes Taiwan has the stronger democracy at this time. She said that in the U.S., she has begun to feel the sense that she cannot truly speak freely. King expressed her belief that at a time when democratic nations worldwide are showing signs of decline, Taiwan’s successful democratization sets a positive example. In this context, it is more important than ever to tell stories about how to reject authoritarianism and achieve democratic ideals, she said. Her words were met with enthusiastic applause.

In 2024, King’s translation of “Taiwan Travelogue” won the United States National Book Awards for Translated Literature and the Asia Society China Books Review’s inaugural Baifang Schell Book Prize for translated literature.