Visitor numbers and revenue both reached new highs at the six-day Taipei Comic Exhibition this year, organizers said yesterday.
About 582,000 people visited the exhibition, which concluded on Tuesday, up from the 556,000 who attended last year, according to Kuei Jung Exhibition Co, one of the organizers.
Revenue at the annual exhibition reached NT$250 million (US$8.33 million), up from NT$180 million last year, the company said.
More signings were held and more limited edition books and products were sold at this year’s exhibition, which may be some of the reasons that brought a record number of comic fans to the fair, said Roger Kao (高世椿), secretary-general of the Taipei-based Chinese Animation and Comic Publishers Association.
The increase in exhibitors may have also boosted revenues. More than 450 booths were set up at the exhibition this year, up 10 percent from last year, the association said.
Kao said that sales also increased for products related to comic books by Taiwanese artists, as more of the artists appeared in person to promote their books at the fair this year.
“It is the first time that the number of Taiwanese artists attending the fair surpassed the number of Japanese artists,” Kao said.
The fair featured 49 graphic artists, voice actors, animation directors and light novelists from Taiwan and Japan, 25 of them from Taiwan.
Comic books, novels and a variety of products were sold at the exhibition, held at Taipei World
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman