With Showcase Ditched, Ailing Booksellers Seek Help

Publishers and exhibitors have called for further financial assistance from the government to help make up for their losses because of the cancellation of this year's book fair.

The Trade Development Council (TDC), which organises the annual event, first postponed the July showcase to December, and then announced on Monday that it will be cancelled, because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A spokesman for the 2020 Hong Kong Book Fair Concern Group, Leslie Ng, said alternative plans by the TDC to launch an online book fair won't help much.

Ng said many publishers have tried to sell their books online since July, but it didn't work.

"In Hong Kong, still people want to go to the exhibition to physically buy the books rather than online," he said, pointing out that the annual fair at the Convention and Exhibition Centre helped generate a big part of the revenue for a majority of publishers in the past.

Ng also the trade has been going through a tough spell, with more than 10 publishers folded since July.

"Most of us haven't got any revenue for the past half year," he said.

The government earlier proposed subsidies of up to HK$100,000 to each book fair exhibitor under a HK$40 million package.

Ng also pointed out that many of those planning to take part in the book fair voiced support for the decision to cancel the December event, saying it’s too risky to press ahead with it given the latest coronavirus outbreak.

He said exhibitors had already voted against continuing with the event before its cancellation. "We had some small voting inside our group to decide whether we want to proceed or not... In fact, 80 percent of us wanted to stop it because the situation was too serious and we don't think that it should be held in December," said Ng.