At the Taipei International Book Fair, an exiled Tibetan official addresses Tibet's issues

on Jun 08, 2022

At the Taipei International Book Exhibition in 2022, Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa, a representative of the Tibetan government in exile, spoke against Beijing's restrictions and rules on book printing.He welcomed the goal of a publishing under the Office of Tibet to publish books on Tibet in Chinese.

Representative Bawa thanked the volunteers at Ganjong Publication for their help and thanked Taiwan for being "the only Chinese-speaking country where Chinese publications about Tibet's issue are authorised to be published," according to a report by a policy research institute, Tibet Rights Collective.

He also introduced the audience to displayed books about Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, Tibet's history, Tibet's religion and culture, Tibetan education and environment, Tibet-China ties, and books authored by Tibetans, Taiwanese, and Chinese, according to the article.

The Taipei International Book Exhibition, which had been suspended for two years due to the Covid epidemic, was held this year from June 2 to 7. Ganjong Publication, part of the Office of Tibet in Taiwan, took part in the book exhibition, along with several other participants from around the world.

The book fair attracted over 300 domestic and international publishers. According to Focus Taiwan, organisers of the Taipei Book Fair announced that Ukraine participated in the expo for the first time in a special "We Stand with Ukraine" section.

The expo also featured a special exhibition with works by 15 Ukrainian illustrators that mirrored Ukrainians' current feelings about the continuing war with Russia, which was one of the most attended exhibition booths.

The TIBE, with the theme "Reading and Publishing Beyond the Pandemic," opened at the Taipei World Trade Center's Exhibition Hall 1 with around 160 domestic and 150 international publishers from 21 countries, Taiwan's Culture Minister Lee Yung-te said during a speech at the opening ceremony, according to Focus Taiwan.

Lee predicted that the exhibition will be a success due to Taiwan's high regard for press freedom.

Robert Lin, Chairman of the Taipei Book Fair Foundation and one of the major organisers of the TIBE, congratulated France for serving as the book fair's "Guest of Honor '' for the fourth time.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's Vice President Lai Ching-te commended publishers for their contributions to the exhibition's success. "The TIBE is a very important annual event, as well as a very vital forum for interactions between Taiwanese and worldwide publishers," Lai stated, according to Focus Taiwan.

According to the Taiwanese Culture Ministry, the book fair was free for visitors under the age of 18, as well as those from outside Taipei and New Taipei who presented train tickets for travel to Taipei on the day of their visit, and foreign citizens who presented their passport.

Taiwan's Vice President Lai Ching-te, Culture Minister Lee Yung-te, and David Kibler from the French Bureau Francais de Taiwan were among the guests at the book expo.