Boosting Taiwan’s reading cultureBy Jerome C. Su 蘇正隆There has been extensive discussion recently about Cheng Da bookstore’s decision to close all of its branches. The campaign’s organizers hoped that the presidential candidates, by purchasing and reading books, could set an example for the public to follow, while generating policies favoring the publishing industry and thinking of ways to elevate reading culture more broadly. In 2014, after 10 years of development, South Korea implemented a fixed book pricing system, and the policies have now been in effect for the better part of a decade. According to this system, books are generally not discounted within the first 18 months of publication. The fixed book pricing system was accompanied by a coordinated set of measures, including the establishment of a supervisory board responsible for inspecting violations and ensuring reasonable prices.
