2023
About the Program
In the future, as birth rates decline, the government captures all women capable of reproduction and turns them into Handmaids, whose sole purpose is to bear children for the country… Handmaids have no freedom, only the value in being able to give birth; wives also have no freedom, as their sole concern is reproduction…
Dystopian stories are chilling because we can often see their shadows in our current realities. The question of whether women are being treated as mere reproductive tools is still a topic of public debate: In 2022, when the Supreme Court of the United States overruled the Roe v. Wade case and overturned protections for a pregnant individual’s right to abortion, or in many Asian countries where politicians attribute the declining birth rate to modern women’s unwillingness to marry.
Beyond these examples, we invite you to consider what other inequalities women face in contemporary society.
Margaret Atwood was born during World War II. Because of her father’s job as an entomologist, her family frequently moved across the east coast of Canada. During these migrations, she didn’t have many childhood playmates, but instead had ample time for reading and developed a fondness for storytelling with her brother. Her literary career rose as an extension of her childhood.
In addition to her love for books, she would also indulge in birdwatching and write on various themes, exploring human nature, femininity, environment, and life. In Atwood’s Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing, she mentions that her parents valued reason and curiosity, while she, being the youngest in the family, possessed an incredibly sensitive heart. Perhaps it is because of this combination that her works are both intellectually sharp in addressing human issues and emotionally resonant, evoking a sense of righteous indignation.
From the Curating Team
Harassment rooted in bureaucracy and social values subtly infiltrates women's lives, urging them to prioritize the collective or accept "cultural traditions." Works like The Handmaid’s Tale and Tan-Tsiu-Niu highlight ongoing gender oppression. This year's Taiwan Bookstore focuses on "women," "history," and "reflection," inspired by the #MeToo movement and explores gender-based violence and marginalized women's stories. How can we create change for our daughters?
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TAIWANfest Toronto is grateful to be held on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, that is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We acknowledge our privilege to be gathered here, and commit to work with and be respectful to the Indigenous peoples of this land while we engage in meaningful conversations of culture and reconciliation.