The owner of Taiuan-e-tiam (台灣e店), a bookshop for Taiwan-related writing and paraphernalia, is looking for a new location after rising rents near National Taiwan University in Taipei have made its lease untenable.
If it closed down permanently, there would be no other bookstore dedicated to Taiwan, owner Wu Cheng-hsan (吳成三) said on Sunday.
Taiuan-e-tiam, which in Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) means “the store of Taiwan,” first opened its doors in 1993.
Photo: Tsai Ssu-pei, Taipei Times
The seeds of inspiration were planted when Wu was warned by a fellow student at Columbia University not to read the campus’ copy of Formosa Betrayed.
The 1965 book details US diplomat George Kerr’s firsthand observations of Taiwan before the 228 Incident in 1947 and during the White Terror under martial law that followed.
This sparked an abiding interest in Taiwanese society and democracy that only grew after Wu returned to witness the vibrant democracy and environmental movements of the 1990s.
Photo: Tsai Ssu-pei, Taipei Times
Wu at the time had a friend who sold banned books and Hoklo-language writings before demonstrations from a temporary bookstand, but only for one or two days at a time.
This prompted Wu and his wife to open a permanent store that would primarily sell books and other materials relating to Taiwan.
In addition to books about history and society, the store carries literature in Hoklo, Hakka and indigenous languages, as well as illustrated books about Taiwanese opera and puppetry, and independently published works from local artists and authors.
Some CDs have in the past been considered so controversial that the store has been targeted by vandals.
Although the basement is ordinarily not open to the public, it is also brimming with history as a venue for speakers such as Reverend Kao Chun-ming (高俊明), a Presbyterian pastor known for democracy activism, and Taiwanese independence advocate Su Beng (史明).
Also filed away in the basement are out-of-print volumes and historical documents, including all issues of Formosa Magazine (美麗島雜誌).
However, due to rent hikes, Wu said that Taiuan-e-tiam could not stay in business at its location beyond May, although he added that now that the word is out, business has ironically been better than ever.
Wu said he is in the market for a new location, where indigenous, Hakka, Hoklo and other overlooked books can find a guaranteed home on its shelves.
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