TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Despite pressure from China, Czech publisher Mi:Lu Publishing kept two Taiwan flags on display throughout the four-day Book World Prague international book fair, which concluded on Sunday.
Members of the Chinese delegation reportedly requested the flags be removed, per CNA. Mi:Lu Publishing Editor-in-Chief Tzu-hsuan (江子瑄) told CNA that many Czech and Taiwanese visitors came by to express their support. The publisher also received numerous messages of concern online.
China’s attempt to pressure the fair drew coverage from Czech media. Tomas Rizek, founder of Mi:Lu Publishing, told Czech Radio, “We originally didn’t want to display the flag here, but when they told us that Taiwan didn’t exist, we decided we needed to change the design of our stand.”
Rizek said a woman—“probably an agent from the Chinese embassy”—took photos of their stand and the flags “at least four times in 20 minutes.” When his colleague offered her a book, “she emphasized that she didn’t want any, that she wasn’t taking photos of books.”
Rizek said he took a photo of the woman in return. She was later seen at a stand representing Chinese publishers. When approached by Czech Radio, she declined to comment, saying in Chinese that she did not want to make any statements.
Book fair director Radovan Auer confirmed the pressure campaign. “I have information from Mr. Rizek that Chinese people go there and take pictures of them all the time,” Auer told Czech Radio. “Mr. Rizek handles it with great grace, for example, by offering them his books, which he has in Chinese.”
Auer said the fair aims to be “as open-minded as possible.” Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, organizers banned Russian state-affiliated entities but otherwise maintained an inclusive policy. “Russia is a terrorist state, we are strict about that, but otherwise we try to be as open as possible," he explained.
He added that even before the event began, the Chinese delegation demanded that logos for Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office be removed from the Book World Prague website, where they are listed as partners. The delegation also called for the removal of Taiwan flags from the Mi:Lu Publishing stand—requests that fair organizers declined.
“When they found out that Mr. Rizek, who publishes Czech books in Taiwan and Taiwanese books in the Czech Republic, was exhibiting here and had two small flags on his stand, it was a red flag for them,” Auer said. “They immediately filed a request to remove them, but we didn’t react in any way.”
Auer clarified that the dispute was not between Chinese and Taiwanese exhibitors but between the Chinese delegation and Book World Prague. Mi:Lu has been participating in the fair for four years, while Chinese publishers had only just returned after a hiatus.
According to Auer, Chinese publishers had withdrawn in the past after the fair featured work by Chinese dissidents. Upon returning this year, they again sought to remove all references to Taiwan. “We rejected all their demands,” he said.
He added that China had even complained to the Czech Ministry of Culture, demanding Taiwan’s removal from the event. “The ministry replied that we are in a democratic country and Book World is a private institution,” said Auer.
