TIBE 2000

Some 400,000 visitors packed the Taipei International Trade Center for the 2000 Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE), held from February 16 to 21. True to its theme, 'Asia, the Way,' the fair brought together 885 publishers from 45 countries, including first-time participants Macedonian, Estonia, and Egypt, and put the spotlight on Asia's publishing industry and Taiwan's in particular. President Lee Teng-hui spoke at the opening ceremony, which was also attended by foreign diplomats in Taiwan and over a thousand representatives from the publishing world. The event outdid the successful 1999 TIBE not only in the sheer numbers of participants and exhibitors, but also in the amount of copyright deals that were signed. Leading publishing agents from England, Germany, and other countries all remarked on the increased business activity at the exhibition.