Lin Hsin-yi and Staff Reporter
Want China Times
July 4, 2014
Taiwan-based bookstore chain Eslite has said it is a standard part of their management practice to restrict their employees from speaking to the press and that many other enterprises have similar regulations in response to Hong Kong media reports accusing the chain of removing books related to Tibet from its shelves.
Hong Kong’s Apple Daily reported on June 19 that several books about life and activism in Tibet were removed from a book exhibition at its outlet in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay in March. Eslite may have received pressure from the Chinese authorities as it plans to open branches in Suzhou and Shanghai in 2015.
Chinese author Yuan Hongbin, who has published books about Han Chinese persecution of Tibetans, complained that Eslite banned his books in November 2013, giving him the excuse that the move was simply part of the bookstore’s procedure to return unwanted books. It has not been established whether Eslite came under political pressure concerning Yuan’s books.
Hsu Shih-rong, a professor at National Cheng Chi University in Taipei, said Eslite has let the public down and questioned whether a company can legitimately order its employees to keep quiet just because it pays them a salary.
Taiwan’s culture minister, Lung Ying-tai, said people should understand what is going on before leveling accusations. Lung said she respects each company’s business strategy but also believes Eslite can find a balance in whatever it is doing.
Lin Tsai-chue, a publisher at Taiwan’s Linking Publishing, said the move should not necessarily be interpreted in a political way as Eslite’s real reasons are not known. He also said Eslite has made a major contribution to opening the mainland China and Hong Kong book market.
