Spruijt said that he was impressed with the number of Taiwan authors whose works have appeared in major international exhibitions such as the Frankfurt Book Fair.

“I think that the western countries are interested in things such as foreign authors,” said Spruijt of the IPA, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland. Spruijt raised the example of the popularity of Japanese comics in France as evidence that Asian authors have begun to make a mark in the West.

He added that platforms such as the Taipei International Book Exhibition are needed to promote the exchange of literature across borders.

The Dutch native commented on the this year’s TIBE, saying that public access to the exhibition is greater than those in other countries. “Here the exhibition is open to the public almost every day, while in other countries, for example, Frankfurt, the public is only allowed in on the last day of the book fair,” said Spruijt.

He lauded the children’s book section and the Digital Reading Pavilion which integrates content into technology, but offered a warning on discounts being given to the public by book publishers during the TIBE.

Spruijt said that such discounts bypass the retail book shops and ultimately create harm for the publishers in the long run.

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