The 14th Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE) came to a close yesterday having welcomed a record 440,000 visitors during its six-day run, with the organizer claiming that a new direction has emerged in which the TIBE's three functions -- international exchanges, professional publishing, and reading as part of life -- will support and strengthen one another.
Hao Ming-yi (
Claudia Kaiser, director of the International Department of Frankfurt International Book Fair, which organized the four-country joint exhibit, said participants from Poland and Greece were at first quite concerned because they knew nothing about how such an event might be recived in Taiwan. They were very pleased with the response, however, and she plans to invite more European countries to participate next year.
The response to overseas participants was enthusiastic, according to Hao. For example, all of the books displayed by the ASEAN Book Publishers Association, also a first-time participant in the exhibition, were purchased by the National Library, he said.
Hao said the surprising volume of sales not only boosted ASEAN publishers' interest in returning next year, but also demonstrated Taiwan's strong interest in expanding exchanges with its neighbors.
Iran's Shabaviz Publishing Co, a third-time participant in the TIBE, was also happy to report that its sales have been improving each year at the exhibition and that it reached deals on the copyrights for 60 books and other items at this year's event.
Singapore's Pan-Asia Publishing House found Korean and Japanese buyers for a series of Chinese-language books that it plans to publish.
The European publishers said they will come up with a list of recommended books which they hope will be translated into four languages -- English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. This shows that the TIBE has acted as a forum to serve more Asian readers, according to Hao, who pledged to strengthen the TIBE's regional exchange mechanism by expanding contacts with all publishers.
Given the impressive attendance and sales over the past six days, Hao said a new direction has been shaped in which the TIBE's three major functions -- international exchanges, professional publishing, and making reading part of life -- have worked well to reinforce one other. A clearer path should appear three to five years down the road for the TIBE, he predicted.
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