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German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised that there would be no "taboos" at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair, as the fair opened with Guest of Honour China in the media spotlight.
The opening ceremony at the 61-year-old event passed off with few alarms, perhaps helped by the heavy police presence before and after the event, held on Tuesday evening (13th October), and airport style security at the entrance. There was one small protest, unnoticed by most in the hall, as one attendee held up A4 pieces of paper with the names of what appeared to be "missing" Chinese dissidents written in Chinese and English. The protest began during the speech of Chinese vice president Xi Jinping, and continued throughout Merkel's address, which followed. There was no attempt to prevent the protest.
Merkel was one of a number of speakers to highlight the fair's commitment to free speech in light of the trouble caused earlier this year when the fair appeared to acquiesce to Chinese pressure over two dissident authors that had been due to attend a symposium about China—in the end the fair made a point of making sure they did attend. At the opening ceremony Merkel stated: "There can be — and I am sure there will be — no taboos in discussions" at the event.
The director of the German Booksellers and Publishers Association Gottfried Honnefelder was more trenchant: "We view freedom of opinion as an inalienable right." He said the fair had "violated" its commitment to open debate by barring the dissidents, and had been right to change its position and let them attend. He also stressed that the fair's apology to the Chinese delegation had been "no disgrace".
Fair director Juergen Boos was more circumspect in his speech. According to reports, it has taken 15 years to secure China as the guest of honour. "The role of the book fair is not to be political, it is to listen to other cultures," said Boos. "We provide a stage, a platform for discussion." But he warned: "This is not the Olympics. It cannot be controlled."
Earlier in the day at the fair's press conference, Boos stated the fair's opinions more clearly: "We strongly condemn the human rights breaches and the restrictions on freedom of opinion and the press in the People's Republic of China," he told the gathered press corps.
But he insisted China had been an excellent choice as this year's guest, saying that dialogue with China was likely to bring change. Nevertheless the book fair was "not the United Nations", he added.