To promote the habit of reading, Taiwan is joining in the celebrations of World Book Day by connecting a network of independent bookstores and libraries across the nation under the program "Read Taiwan (走讀臺灣)."
The event kicked off on Apr. 23 and it was attended by Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te, Deputy Culture Minister Lee Ching-hwi (李靜慧), event curator Lee Ming-tsung (李明璁), representatives from MOC affiliated institutions and others.
Addressing the event, Minister Lee commented that people have faced many issues over the past two years, such as the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. He said reading can help people to gain a better understanding of different communities, countries and regions. With this understanding, it is less likely for war and aggression to happen. Although there is a decline in the number of people who read physical books, these books still play a crucial role in cultural heritage and landscape as well as in communication and dialogues of the soul.
Minister Lee added that one of the themes of this year's event is "Freedom" which represents the most important role of books and the other theme "Diversity" emphasizes the diversity of areas and ethnic groups. He encourages people to read more about all the stories that happened on this land, and at the same time, multilingualism will allow every ethnic group to take pride in their own culture.
The program "Read Taiwan" was launched by MOC in 2019. This year, in order to promote various national languages, the reading activities organized by 17 MOC affiliated institutions will integrate different languages such as Taiwanese, Indigenous, Matsu and Taiwanese sign language and launch a series of activities including concerts, book fairs, exhibitions and others.
From now until May. 23, MOC is accepting applications for the "Read Taiwan" program, inviting bookstores, publishers, literary and history workshops or other private entities who are interested in organizing reading activities to submit their applications on MOC's website.