Losing its physical fair within days of opening because of a new COVID-19 outbreak, Taiwan’s biggest book fair extends its online run by four months. (Sponsored)
Taipei International Book Exhibition chair Robert Lin speaks in the show’s grand opening video. Image: TIBE
Robert Lin: ‘The Fortifying Power of Books’
With its online evocation offered in English as well as Chinese, the Taipei International Book Exhibition is off to an energetic start, seemingly no loss of spirit because of the COVID-19 virus outbreak that has scuttled its physical elements.
Originally planned for both digital and physical presentation, the show is annually the kickoff to world publishing’s new year of public-facing fair events and Frankfurter Buchmesse’s professional programming for the book trade. But on January 20, when Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center swiftly revised its crowd guidance as several cases were confirmed, the administration of the moved quickly to quell a series of