Dear respected mother (and all my beloved supporters who subscribe or buy my books),
My trip to Taipei is centered around two main events: the recently concluded Taipei International Book Exhibition and the upcoming WordCamp Asia next week.
It's been a year since I last sent out postcards to you all, with the last batch being from Bangkok, revolving around WordCamp Asia, and hinting at Taipei being next year's venue. I'm thrilled to see Taipei hosting this significant Asian event. Although I didn't submit any talks this time, I'm eager to attend and offer my support.
I remember in early February 2020, I came to Taipei primarily for the Book Exhibition, but just a few days before it was set to begin, the organizers decided to cancel it due to the outbreak of the pandemic. My plans to discuss the publication of The Sociology of Blockchain with the publishers were all scrapped, and it eventually got published in Hong Kong instead.
Four years have passed, through all sorts of trials and tribulations (and I'm not just talking about myself), I've finally published a physical book in Taiwan for the first time. And it's even a case of "export turned domestic sales," making a comeback in my own country. Mom, I've made it.
A few months ago, at a publishing conference in Nowhere Publishing, the chief editor, Annie Zhang, ‘’command’ that Moneyverse: how money works in the multiverse must be published "before the book exhibition." Funny that the execution followed quite literally. The book was printed right on time, the afternoon before the book exhibition, and was delivered to Nowhere, reportedly still warm from the printing.
As an author releasing a new book, how did I spend my time at the Taipei Book Exhibition?
I had imagined myself surrounded by thousands of readers at the book fair, eagerly asking for autographs and photos. But as it turned out, over the course of several days, I felt more like a smuggler—organizing lists, packaging books, filling out addresses, boxing them up, completing customs declaration forms and dragging packages big and small to the post office for shipping, only to wake up with a sore back and aching muscles.
The image of an author surrounded by a throng of readers isn't a fantasy, but that wasn't my experience. In reality, compared to being an author, my role at the book fair was more akin to that of a little fan. I obediently attended five or six sharings, went around asking my favorite authors for autographs. One of them almost signed my screen with their pen.
Even though I was always more of a wallflower at the book fair and various parties, I still had books to sign outside the fair, all thanks to everyone's support.
The day I arrived in Taipei marked the beginning of early spring, but astonishingly, just two days later, it felt like winter had returned. Sitting outside Nowhere signing books, the wind was strong and it was cold. My handwriting is pretty bad to begin with, and it got worse with my hands shaking from the cold and the insufficient outdoor light. Moreover, my usual pen was borrowed by someone at the book fair and never returned. So, when you receive the book, don't be alarmed by the signature inside or the address on the envelope. The imperfections are also a kind of warmth, I guess.
“Did you think you can hide up here? Of course not! A brilliant new book like you, no matter where you sit,shines like a firefly in the darkness, so vivid, so extraordinary…” (From “Taipei” with love)
Above is the Eslite bookshop in the Zhongshan Metro Mall, a series of small, continuous stalls that might just be the world's narrowest bookstore.
Besides being available in 23 stores nationwide, Moneyverse: how money works in the multiverse is also listed online at Eslite, currently on sale at a special discount of 21% off.
Continuing north along the Zhongshan Metro Mall, nearing Shuanglian (above ground is located the Chifeng Street, one of the chill spots for a stroll), you'll find a vast space where groups of young people gather to dance, bursting with energy.
This sight inevitably makes me reflect: a healthy society and a normal government always provide space for artistic groups and young people to express themselves, both physically and ideologically.
Providing space is the basic responsibility for encouraging cultural activities. Going a step further, governments can design mechanisms to transform passivity into action and amplify those actions. For example, youths aged 18-21 could each receive 1,200 cultural coins, with each coin equivalent to 1 Taiwan dollar. These coins could be used to buy books, watch performances, participate in art activities, and purchase cultural and creative goods, among other things.
Cultural coins act like a LikeCoin within the system, encouraging creativity and supporting the arts.
During the book fair, the activities at Nowhere bookstore didn't slow down. I had the pleasure of listening to authors who came to Taiwan for the book fair: Sampson Wong with 城市散步學——以香港作為起點 and Lui Ka Chun with 好好吃飯. They shared why they persist in writing books in an era dominated by social media, a sentiment I deeply relate to.
Let's talk about something other than the book fair.
Recently, it's been the Lantern Festival, and like every year, the Taipei Lantern Festival was held with great fanfare, giving me a long-missed sense of peace and prosperity. In fact, the lights at the site are much more beautiful than in the photos. Don't laugh, but my phone/camera costs less than a thousand Hong Kong dollars, so it's pretty low-end, but it does what it can.
Don't be too envious of me for both visiting the book fair and enjoying the Lantern Festival. In reality, I'm just an ordinary passerby. The only reason I passed by several times is that the Nowhere bookstore is located in Ximending, where the Lantern Festival took place.
I did go to the night market since I promised to have dinner. Among the many night markets in Taipei, I have a special fondness for Nanjichang. It's brimming with a sense of everyday life (but let's keep it a secret from the folks in Hong Kong, one of the reasons it's so great here is precisely because there are fewer tourists from elsewhere).
For a city to truly enjoy “night vibes”, it must first respect the living habits and naturally developed ecologies of its people. Efforts should not only avoid undermining these aspects but actively protect them. Demolishing places like Bird Street, Sneaker Street, and Wedding Card Street to construct one shopping mall after another, drying up traditional food stalls, and driving away street food vendors in favor of events organized by the civil affairs office will prove to be futile, no matter how many resources are poured into such endeavors.
Indeed, aside from the night vibes, Taipei also boasts daytime vibes (my friends in Taiwan might think I'm obsessed with the word "vibes" not realizing the oddity lies elsewhere).
Though I've never experienced cherry blossom viewing in Japan, admiring the plum blossoms in the backyards of Taipei's residents is already a joy to behold.
Passing by the pedestrian road outside the Executive Yuan, my fondness for yellow leaves made me feel like a mischievous child, deliberately stepping on the fallen leaves to hear the gentle rustling sound—utterly therapeutic.
Let's conclude here. Wishing you good health and well-being.
kin. Taipei. 2024.02.29
P.S. I wonder if I will still be writing the next time February 29th comes around?
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