During this year’s Hong Kong Book Fair, the Trade Development Council has requested exhibitors to remove several books from display citing sensitivity. Among them are works by two Hong Kong authors who have relocated to Taiwan, including Lai Wai-tang’s “End of Days Practice” and Leung Lai-zi’s “Everyday Exercise.” Today, the Taiwan Ministry of Culture announced the winners of the 48th Golden Tripod Awards, with Lai Wai-tang’s “Post-Disaster Book” and Leung Lai-zi’s “The Melancholy of Trees” both receiving literary book awards.
Lai Wai-tang’s “Post-Disaster Book” encompasses his works from 2018 to 2022, divided into three collections of poems: “Mapping Solitude,” “Years of Calamity Pilgrimage,” and “Mother Tongue Dictionary,” discussing political issues in Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as the pandemic. The judges of the Golden Tripod Awards commented that “through the unique and interrelated structure of the three volumes, the poet navigates through different historical pulses, confronting the political violence and disasters of the human world. With touches of sorrow and anger, he probes the calamities and injuries of the era, as well as profound reflections on how artists should position themselves, showcasing a distinctive style of poetry and thought.” They described “Post-Disaster Book” as the author’s weighty representative work in recent years.
On the other hand, Leung Lai-zi’s “The Melancholy of Trees” is a novel about Hong Kong and Taiwan. The introduction states that “after 2019, Taiwan gained new significance for Hong Kongers: it became a community, a shelter, a utopia, and a temporary halt for departures.” The work portrays Hong Kongers who come to Taiwan facing cultural conflicts, the guilt of leaving, political differences, and the struggles of adaptation.
The judges of the Golden Tripod Awards described “The Melancholy of Trees” as depicting the daily lives and mindsets of people from Taiwan and Hong Kong, detailing the various considerations and difficult choices faced by individuals who choose to stay in Hong Kong or move abroad. With a symbolic writing style, the author weaves together images and mental landscapes of Hong Kongers who migrate to Taiwan for different reasons, subtly incorporating various postures of flora and fauna into veiled fables, implying that the historical fires and legacies of movements continue to burn in the hearts of Hong Kongers of different generations.
Leung Lai-zi took to Instagram on Monday to share her feelings about winning the award: “Over the years, I have received many literary awards, but this is my first book award, which is highly significant – a form of recognition as an author who writes based on books.” She expressed gratitude to her publisher who decided to sign her before she moved to Taiwan, her first landing spot in Hualien, as well as to Hong Kong and herself.
Leung Lai-zi mentioned that if her initial landing spot wasn’t Hualien, she believes her reflections on writing, questioning dimensions, and the gaze on identity would have been different, and “The Melancholy of Trees” would not have been achieved. She also thanked Hong Kong for being described as “carefully and truthfully piercing into every texture.” Finally, she expressed gratitude for never giving up writing in any circumstance and rediscovering her love for herself during the long “writing rehabilitation” process.