Fair of censorship

“We like that writers come here, whose performances are caused by fierce disputes,” says the director of the Frankfurt Book Fair (in the photo: China stand at the fair in 2007)

In Frankfurt, the 61st International Book Fair opened. Participants are over 7 thousand out of more than one hundred countries of the world. About 300 thousand visitors are expected. This year, China has become an honorary guest of the fair.

This is not the first time the honorary guest of the Frankfurt Book Fair is a country in which there are serious problems in compliance with human rights. In 2003 it was Russia, in 2004-Arab countries, in 2008-Türkiye, and this year-China.

A few weeks before the opening of the Fair in Frankfurt, a German-Chinese symposium was held, which was noted by a scandal . The official Chinese delegation, outraged by the presence of dissidents - the poet and publisher Bay Lina and the writer Dai Qing, left the symposium.

About why China has become this year of the honorary guest of the Frankfurt Book Fair, says its director Jurgen Boss :

Freedom of expression of opinions is our priority. It is for this reason that we invite foreign writers who in their homeland are persecuted by the authorities

- The Frankfurt Book Fair for many years has been an arena of unbridled discussions. We like that writers come to Frankfurt, whose performances cause fierce disputes. Freedom of expression of opinions is our priority. It is for this reason that we invite foreign writers who in their homeland are persecuted by the authorities. Recently, many books about China have appeared in Germany, especially about the economy and political system of this country. As for Chinese fiction, the Germans almost do not know it. The Frankfurt Book Fair will help to eliminate this gap.

But what about the participation of China in the Frankfurt Book Fair is a deputy of the European Parliament from Germany, human rights activist Barbara Lochbieler :

- The motto of the Chinese exposition at the fair is "tradition and innovation." Sounds, of course, beautiful. But there is little sense in this slogan, because human rights violations also became a Chinese tradition. In this country there are serious problems with religion freedom. Tibetan and Muslim minorities are subjected to persecution. The Chinese authorities introduced censorship on the Internet. People do not have free access to information. But the Chinese are creative people, and they find different ways to circumvent censorship, although this is associated with considerable risk ...

Among other topics of the Frankfurt Fair are the development of electronic books and the problems of copyright protection.