(Central News Agency reporter Zeng Tingxuan, special report from Hanoi on the 6th) The Taiwanese and Vietnamese husband and wife team Chen Liyang and Lu Yuexiong are the heroes behind the publishing of many Taiwanese and Vietnamese books. The two support each other in life and work, and have long served as a bridge for bilateral exchanges between Taiwan and Vietnam. Lu Yuexiong, who loves Taiwan's mature democratic consciousness the most, told Central News Agency: "I am a Taiwanese son-in-law. I want to work hard for Taiwan and let more Vietnamese see Taiwan."
The Vietnam Studies Center of National Cheng Kung University is an important hub for cultural and academic exchanges between Taiwan and Vietnam. It just received a delegation from the National Science Association of Vietnam (NAFOSTED) at the end of August, and then held an international Vietnamese language certification international workshop that brought together scholars from Vietnam, Taiwan, and Japan.
In mid-August, a new collection of poems jointly produced by Taiwan and Vietnam, "The Spring Breeze Blows My Mother's Room Like a Poetry," was released in Hanoi. The 68-year-old poet Trần Đăng Khoa himself was present and praised this trilingual work translated into Vietnamese, Taiwanese, and Chinese.
A Taiwanese-Vietnamese husband and wife team is involved in the preparation, translation and publication of these events. They are Chen Liyang, chief editor of Asia International Communications and secretary of the Taiwan-Vietnam Cultural Association, and Lù Việt Hùng, Vietnamese editor of Asia International Communications and assistant researcher at the Vietnam Studies Center of National Cheng Kung University.
The couple accepted a telephone interview with Central News Agency on the 4th. Lu Yuexiong talked about his relationship with Taiwan, which started when he was studying in the Chinese Department of Vietnam National University. He originally had little relationship with Taiwan until he met Jiang Weiwen, a professor at National Cheng Kung University who established a scholarship office in Vietnam to promote Taiwanese literature and research.
In his junior year, he applied for a research assistant position and began to read Vietnamese translations of Taiwanese history and language. "I gradually learned about Taiwan's sovereignty, freedom, culture, indigenous peoples, language and other issues. Teacher Chiang also opened Taiwanese language classes in Vietnam, allowing work-study students to take Taiwanese language classes with other friends who are friendly to Taiwan, and get to know Taiwan step by step."
He said: "I understand that Taiwan is an independent country with its own passport and government. It is not an integral part of China as some professors at the school said."
On Jiang Weiwen's recommendation, he went to Taiwan to study for a master's degree in Taiwanese literature. "At that time, people knew very little about Taiwan. My family objected to me going to Taiwan to study, and asked why not go to China. But I insisted, and flew from Hanoi with Teacher Chiang in 2004. It was my first time going abroad, and my life in Taiwan started."
After graduation, he briefly returned to China, but he was accustomed to the convenient life and freedom and democracy in Taiwan, so he accepted Jiang Weiwen's invitation to return to National Cheng Kung University to work.
In 2005, Lu Yuexiong fell in love at first sight with Chen Liyang, who also helped in the World Taiwanese Language Camp. Jiang Weiwen was a matchmaker. "He would appear at every important moment in our lives," Lu Yuexiong said with a smile.
Chen Liyang studied in the Department of Applied Japanese and went to Vietnam to study language by chance in 2006. However, due to cultural differences, misunderstandings, and even being bullied by the Chinese, he did not have a good experience in studying abroad for this year and a half.
After returning to Taiwan, Chen Liyang worked for Asia International Communication Agency and participated in translation, publishing, exchange and other activities between Taiwan and Vietnam. A few years later, she and Lu Yuexiong went from being friends to getting married. In 2018, Chen Liyang studied for a master's degree in the Vietnamese section of East Asian Philology at Kaohsiung University. With the introduction and encouragement of her husband, she saw a deeper understanding of Vietnam.
Now, she admires the bravery of the Vietnamese. "As a country, they fought against foreign aggression and bravely defended their homeland in the war. The spirit they displayed is incredible. Now many Vietnamese students come to Taiwan. I think they are very courageous. They are completely different from me back then. They have an aura that is not easy to mess with. I admire them very much."
The couple uses practical actions to protect and promote the Taiwanese language through exchange activities and literary publishing. Chen Liyang said, "We want Vietnamese scholars to know that Taiwan is multi-faceted and multilingual. Many people are surprised and find that the Taiwan they knew in the past was too one-sided. They are also happy to have the opportunity to understand Taiwan's history and know that Chinese was not the main language in Taiwan in the past."
In addition to Chinese, Lu Yuexiong is surprisingly fluent in Taiwanese and often assists in bilingual interpretation in Vietnamese and Taiwanese academic settings. His research and mastery of Taiwanese language is better than many Taiwanese people.
He told reporters that when he read Taiwanese literature, he discovered that Taiwan not only has Chinese language, but also aboriginal languages, Hakka and Taiwanese languages. "I want to understand the real life and people's thoughts in Taiwan. If I don't know these languages, I can only understand the aspects of the Chinese language. So when I was studying in the Department of Taiwanese Literature, I also regarded Taiwanese as a skill that needed to be honed." They also only speak their mother tongue with their children at home, so that their children can get used to using Taiwanese, Hakka, and Vietnamese.
Chen Liyang hopes to introduce different aspects of Vietnam to Taiwanese people through literary translation, exchange activities, speeches, etc., and break some prejudices and stereotypes about Vietnam.
Lu Yuexiong said that Taiwan’s impression of Vietnamese people was still more than 10 years ago, and they believed that people came to Taiwan because their families were poor. However, in fact, Vietnam’s economy has improved. In addition to college students, master’s degrees, and Ph.D.s, there are also many Vietnamese who come to Taiwan to teach, research, or work in white-collar jobs, and their profiles are becoming more and more diverse.
When talking about Taiwan, Lu Yuexiong said that Taiwan's freedom and democracy are the most admirable, especially the public participation and civic consciousness of Taiwanese people. "Including after experiencing the white terror, many people were willing to sacrifice themselves to fight for Taiwan's human rights and freedom. Teacher Chiang and I participated in many social movements, such as promoting Taiwan's participation in United Nations activities."
He first set foot on Taiwan in 2004. "At that time, there were many activities on local culture, language, and history, and you could learn about different aspects of Taiwan. Your citizen participation mechanism is very mature, starting from the selection of class representatives and student union presidents in elementary and middle schools. There is social fairness and transparency. Vietnam needs more time to cultivate this aspect." In addition, Lu Yuexiong also received many goodwill from local people when he was a student, which he will never forget.
Lu Yuexiong said that Taiwan is his second hometown and his family is here. Of course, Vietnam is also his hometown, but he has been away for more than 20 years now, and he already regards Taiwan as the land where he will live for the rest of his life.
He told reporters: "I hope to promote Taiwan-Vietnam exchanges and give Vietnam an opportunity to highlight Taiwan, including Taiwan's history, language, and culture. I hope to promote Taiwan on Vietnamese media platforms. I love Taiwan very much and am a Taiwanese son-in-law, so I want to work hard for Taiwan and let more Vietnamese see Taiwan." (Editor: Chen Huiping) 1150906
