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.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS