The Ministry of Culture yesterday said that it would discuss delaying the Taipei International Book Exhibition as a coronavirus infection spreads from China.
The ministry, which organizes the event, called an emergency meeting with executive co-organizer the Taipei Book Fair Foundation and representatives from attending publishers to discuss the issue.
It said it would announce a decision as soon as possible, following consultations with the foundation and publishers.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
This year’s edition of the annual exhibition is due to be held at Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall 1 from Tuesday to Sunday next week.
However, some publishers have expressed concern over the event’s timing and suggested postponing it as reported cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection has risen sharply over the past week, the ministry said.
Many invited authors have been asking whether they should wear a mask while making a speech at the event, the Chinese-language United Daily News quoted Commonwealth Education Media and Publishing chief executive officer Amy Ho (何琦瑜) as saying.
The general public is also concerned, Ho reportedly said.
Taipei Book Fair Foundation chairman Robert Lin (林訓民) reportedly said that many foreign visitors would be attending the exhibition, so the implications of canceling or rescheduling it would be great.
If the ministry defers the exhibition, the venue would become available again in May at the earliest, Lin reportedly said, adding that he hopes the scale of the event and venue would remain the same if it is postponed.
The exhibition’s Web site on Tuesday posted eight measures to prevent 2019-nCoV infection.
It suggested that the participants wear a mask and frequently wash their hands, that the exhibitors monitor their body temperature and health everyday, and that the venue maintain good air ventilation, prepare hand sanitizers at entrances and set up an emergency medical services booth.
More than 580,000 people visited the six-day exhibition last year.
Meanwhile, the Kinmen County Government yesterday asked local hotel owners to discuss response measures after it on Sunday canceled the annual Kinmen Marathon, which was due to be held on Feb. 9, due to the viral outbreak.
Kinmen Tourism Department Director Ting Chien-kang (丁健剛) urged hotels to help maintain the county’s image as a tourist-friendly destination by offering unconditional refunds to people who signed up for the marathon and booked hotel rooms between Thursday next week and Feb. 10.
The Taipei International Comics and Animation Festival would still be held at the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall from tomorrow to Tuesday next week, said the Chinese Animation and Comic Publishers Association, the event’s organizer.
It urged participants to wear surgical masks at the venue.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS