Taipei: The Taipei International Book Exhibition (TiBE) concluded on Sunday, drawing 580,000 visitors over six days, as Culture Minister Li Yuan highlighted the event's role in cultural exchange with other countries. Li emphasized Taiwan's cultural sector growth alongside its economic and technological development over the years. He expressed Taiwan's commitment to becoming a cultural nation and promised continued cultural exchanges with other countries.

According to Focus Taiwan, this year's TiBE, which opened on February 3, featured 509 publishers from 29 countries and hosted 1,467 local and international authors. The event included 1,301 reading promotion events and 1,853 copyright meetings. The Ministry of Culture (MOC) also supported participation for 1,076 students from 50 remote schools nationwide.

Taipei Book Fair Foundation Chairman Rex How noted an increase in the fair's popularity and sales this year, attributing it to MOC policies that allowed weekday tickets to be fully redeemed through vouchers and the "Cultural Points" program, which encourages young adults to engage in related activities. International journalists were interested in how TiBE successfully combines a professional copyright-trading fair with a consumer-focused exhibition.

According to the foundation, the Czech Republic has been announced as the theme country (Guest of Honor) for next year's Taipei book exhibition. David Steinke, representative of the Czech Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, expressed his admiration for the fair's scale and popularity. He highlighted the joy of seeing children's excitement as they explored the books, describing it as the most rewarding aspect of the event.

As the theme country for next year, Steinke mentioned the shared close ties and deep literary connections between Taiwan and the Czech Republic. The 2027 fair will feature classics by authors such as Milan Kundera, Franz Kafka, and Bohumil Hrabal, alongside works by contemporary Czech writers.