Books banned in mainland China sell well in Taiwan, thanks to mainland visitors
Visitors would buy as many as several dozens of books and ask the bookstore to ship them home to the mainland
Books banned in the mainland have seen a steady rise in demand in Taiwan since the island allowed individual mainland visitors to visit in June 2011.
While there was no official figure tallying the rise, book publishers estimated at least a five-fold increase in demand for the books whose subjects ranged from political intrigue to classic novels banned by Chinese authorities on the ground of immoral content.
“Books relating to Chinese political figures, including Xi Jinping, Mao Zedong and Zhao Ziyang, are the most popular for the mainland visitors,” said a staff member of Eslite Books, one of Taiwan’s top bookstore chains.
The spotlight on the banned book business fell on Taiwan this past week because a written letter allegedly from missing bookseller Lee Bo was first reported by Taipei-based Central News Agency.
Such books, including the love life of the late Chinese leader Mao, as well as the secret journals of the late former premier Zhao who was sacked after the Tiananmen Square protest in 1989,were frequently requested by visitors, she said.
“Unlike locals who read the books for hours before deciding to buy them, most mainland visitors usually glance at the book covers, flip through a few pages and quickly go to the cashiers to pay for the books,” said the staffer identified by her surname Wang.
READ MORE: At least one Hong Kong store pulls books banned in mainland China from shelves as mystery over missing bookseller deepens
David Chen of Kingstone Books, another major bookstore chain in Taiwan, said some shy-looking mainland visitors had asked for books like Jin Ping Mei or The Golden Lotus, a Chinese novel published during the Ming era.
Chen said some visitors would buy as many as several dozens of books and ask the bookstore to ship them home to the mainland.
“They told me in addition to being too heavy to carry them back, they were concerned about Chinese customs possibly confiscate them if found,” he added.
Taiwan did not censor books relating to China, a practice that observers said had encouraged more local publishers to publish or import books of the banned subjects, especially after media reports that Beijing was targeting Hong Kong bookstores selling books banned by China.
“The recent disappearance of a Hong Kong book publisher has indicated that the Beijing authorities no longer tolerate the practice of selling or publishing China-banned publications in Hong Kong,” said Paul Lin, a Taipei-based political commentator. Lin was referring to Lee Bo, who went missing after four of his colleagues disappeared in October over their reported plan to publish a book on President Xi’s love life.
READ MORE: Missing Hong Kong bookseller: Lee Bo’s friends describe ‘friendly, and not high-profile’ man at the centre of the mystery
Lin said Beijing’s reluctance to respect press freedom in Hong Kong would only hinder its attempt to sell the “one country, two systems” model for reunification with Taiwan.
