The eighth annual Comic Book Exhibition opened yesterday in Taipei, attracting thousands of comic lovers.
"There were already people lining up outside the exhibition hall last [Wednesday] night," said Candy Chou (
"More than 72,000 people visited the exhibition [yesterday.] We're expecting more than 400,000 visitors during the six-day exhibition," she said.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
As the doors opened at 10am, comic book lovers rushed into the exhibition hall, forming lines in front of their favorite publishers.
Pang Kuang-yi (
"I love comics," he said after buying eight comic books to add to his collection.
As well as comic books sales, book signings by popular cartoonists from Japan and the first-day launch of several new titles were also big draws on the first day of the exhibition.
"We've sold 200 copies [of a first-day-sale title] in just 10 minutes this morning," said Yang Chung-wei (楊仲偉), a publicist with Sharp Point Press. "Buyers of the 200 copies could also have their books signed by the cartoonist."
A hundred souvenir packages of another first-day-sale title, "were sold out in seven minutes," another salesperson said as she was busy guiding customers into another company's exhibition area.
The nation's eight major comic book publishers were all present at the exhibition yesterday.
Officials vowed to help to develop the local comic book industry during a news conference to launch the exhibition.
"Most of the comic books marketed in Taiwan are from South Korea and Japan; works by local cartoonists only have about a 9 percent market share," said Chen Chun-hua (陳俊華), a Government Information Office (GIO) official.
"Developing the local comic book industry is a task that has been identified by the GIO," he said.
Taipei City Cultural Affairs commissioner Lee Yong-ping (
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
RSS