Taiwan is using a major literary award win to raise its profile abroad, a soft-power boost at a time when its status as a country is still disputed.

• Taiwan's culture minister Li Yuan promoted Taiwanese writing at a London forum, centered on "Taiwan Travelogue," which won this year's International Booker Prize.
• The judging panel chair said the book stood out among about 130 translated works, helped by a translation that made Taiwanese references land for English readers.
• Li tied the moment to identity politics, saying people still tell him Taiwan is not a country, and framing literature as a way to open that conversation.
• Taiwanese writers are drawing wider attention by covering ecology, history, Indigenous identity, queer life and local communities.
• Li also toured the V&A's open-access storehouse in London, calling it a model for a shared storage site for Taiwan's own collections.

Outlook: Li continues on to France before returning home mid-month, with more cultural outreach expected as Taiwan leans on literature to win visibility the diplomatic track cannot.