Driving down the main drag this morning, I heard on NPR that China was making a guest appearance at the very popular Frankfurt Book Fair – “literature’s biggest event”; a place where publishers, writers, book vendors and much more, gather to exchange ideas, network, and most importantly – have dialogue.
Bottom line, some human rights activist criticized the organizers of the Book Fair for inviting a country, such as China, with a poor track record for not respecting freedom of speech, and other human rights violations.
Check out The Guardian article, written in September that focused on China wanting to bar certain individuals from participating – i.e. Bei & Dai, and books criticizing China’s domestic and foreign policies. Nonetheless, the latest from NPR this morning – the Book Fair did not bar anyone from attending or participating.
