Department of Cultural Affairs

By Yali Chen
STAFF WRITER

Two winners of the 2014 Taipei Culture Award are Howard Chen, the founder of Tonsan Publications Inc., and Chew's Culture Foundation, the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) announced.

At the awards ceremony this past Dec. 6, several special guests were in attendance to witness the great moment, including Taipei City Mayor Hau Lung-bin; Liou Wei-gong, Director of the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs; Howard Chen, founder of Tonsan Publications Inc.; and Taiwan's semiconductor pioneer Andrew Chew, the founder of Chew's Culture Foundation.

Now in its 18th year, the award is granted to individuals and groups who make long-term commitments to promoting diverse culture and helping to shape the city's image. Over the past 17 years, recipients of the award have come from many different sectors of the community including people involved in art, dance, literature, history, and environmental care.

Receiving his award, Chew said that culture plays an important role in our life. Established in 1990, his foundation was awarded for its long-term efforts to nurture music talents. In a bid to encourage local musicians, the foundation holds a series of concerts named "Euterpe: Spring and Autumn" every year for up-and-coming composers to debut their new pieces. Since 1998 more than 100 musicians have released their works at the biannual event.

The foundation later combined music with visual arts, establishing the Hong-Gah Museum in Taipei in 1999 and holding the biennial Taiwan International Video Art Exhibition to function as a platform for local artists to promote the ideas behind their creation.

Chen founded his publishing house in 1982 and began to publish liberal arts and social science books. Two years later, he opened an independent bookstore near the National Taiwan University in Taipei. During the Martial Law era between 1949 and 1987 in Taiwan, his bookstore introduced the latest publications on social science and left-wing politics.

Since 2005 Chen has been promoting the development of independent bookstores in Taipei. Eight years later, Taiwan Association for Independent Bookshop Culture was established in Taichung City thanks to his long-term efforts and other bookstore owners' support.

Chen received the honor for his contributions to Taiwan's independent bookstores as the center of the attention throughout Asia, the DCA said.