Kao Shih-chuang, secretary-general of the Chinese Animation & Comic Publishers Association, said this week that the annual Taipei International Comics and Animation Festival will go ahead as planned at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, but with some changes that may deter already anxious visitors.
All staff and exhibitors at the event, which runs January 31 through February 4, will be obliged to wear face masks at all times.
Visitors will be urged to follow suit, and alcohol hand-sanitisers will be available at all entrances and exits.
But with a fast-moving international health crisis in the form of the coronavirus 2019-nCoV, there’s no guarantee that the Comics and Animation Festival will run its course.
As it is, the 2020 Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE), set to start February 4 and end February 9, is subject to a review by the Taiwan Ministry of Culture, with both exhibitors and members of the Taipei Book Fair Foundation due to meet to discuss options.
Via Focus Taiwan.
Last year TIBE attracted 580,000 visitors, and the expectations for 2020 were to beat that figure.
As this post goes live the emergency meeting is underway in the Taiwanese capital, reports the Taipei Times, to decide whether to proceed with TIBE as scheduled. Given the large number of foreign visitors and exhibitors who are probably having second thoughts, it seems likely the event will be postponed.
Updates on this post as new information becomes available.
