The Second East Asia Publishers Conference took place on March 30 and 31, 2006 at the Zhejiang Xizi Hotel in Hangzhou, China. Sponsored by Dushu (Reading) Magazine (SDX Joint Publishing Co.) and the East Asia Publishers Conference, with support from the Toyota Foundation, the conference focused on the theme of The Position of Publishing in the Culture Industry.
Participants
- Dong Xiuyu Vice President, China Redactological Society; former President and Editor in Chief, SDX Joint Publishing Co.
- Hu Dawei Vice President, Shanghai Century Publishing Group
- Cheng Sanguo Founder and former Editor in Chief, China Book Business Report
- Wang Jiaming Vice President and Vice Editor in Chief, SDX Joint Publishing Co.
- Chan Man-hung Chairman, Hong Kong Publishing Federation; President, Sino United Publishing (Holdings) Ltd., Hong Kong
- Linden Lin Publisher and Publishing Director, Linking Publishing Company, Taiwan
- Chao Feng Vice President, Chinese Editors’ Society
- Chen Ruijun Vice President, Guangdong People’s Publishing House
- Li Xuejun Deputy Editor, Reading Magazine, SDX Joint Publishing Co.
- Kim Eoun-Ho President, Hangilsa Publishing Co.
- Kang Marxill President, Sakyejul Publishing Ltd.
- Ko Se-hyun President, Changbi Publishers, Inc.
- Han Kyung-Koo Advisor, Ilchokak Publishing Co.; Professor, Kookmin University
- Kim Si-Yeon President, Ilchokak Publishing Co.
- Yim Kyung Taek Professor, Chonbuk National University; Advisor, East Asia Publishers Conference
- Morita Shogo Editorial Director, Misuzu Shobo Publishing Co.
- Otsuka Nobukazu Former President, Iwanami Shoten, Publishers
- Ryusawa Takeshi Former Editorial Director, Heibonsha Limited Publishers
- Kato Keiji Former President, Misuzu Shobo Publishing Co.
- Kanie Norio Managing Director, Toyota Foundation
- Honda Shiro Senior Program Officer, Research Grant Program, Toyota Foundation
Proceedings
Conference Co-Chairs: Dong Xiuyu and Ryusawa Takeshi
1st Day
The conference opened with a welcoming address by Kanie Norio, Managing Director of the Toyota Foundation. Mme. Dong Xiuyu, representing the Chinese hosts of the conference, reported on issues facing China's publishing industry and its future prospects, and surveyed the state of publishing from a global perspective while touching on the conference's theme, the position of publishing in the culture industry. A keynote address by EAPC Japan representative Kato Keiji and reports by individual participants followed.
Opening Address
| Kanie Norio | Expectations for the East Asia Publishers Conference |
Sponsor's Address
| Dong Xiuyu | On This Conference's Theme: The Position of Publishing in the Culture Industry |
Keynote Address
| Kato Keiji | The Decline of Book Publishing and the Growth of a New Culture Industry |
Individual Reports
| Hu Dawei | Let Tasteful Reading Return to Life |
| Cheng Sanguo | Current Status and Development Strategy of Publishing in the Cultural Industry |
| Kim Eoun-Ho | Is Achieving Booktopia Impossible? |
| Kang Marxill | Publishing for Humanity as a Cultural Industry |
| Ryusawa Takeshi | The Position of Publishing in the Culture Industry: The Case of Japan |
| Chan Man-hung | Thoughts on the Importance and Strategies of the Publishing Industry in the Era of Cultural Economics |
| Linden Lin | Crossing Boundaries: Publishing as a Cultural Industry and the Linking Strategy |
| Ko Se-hyun | The Shaking Korean Publishing Industry |
| Han Kyung-Koo | Publishing in the Humanities as a Culture Industry: The Case of Ilchokak |
| Wang Jiaming | Posture and Possibility: Status and Perspective of the Chinese Publishing Industry |
| Otsuka Nobukazu | Issues for Publishing in East Asia (and summation of individual reports) |
2nd Day
Ko Se-hyun, Cheng Sanguo, and Otsuka Nobukazu began the day with presentations of several publishing-related issues; after a lunch break the afternoon was devoted to discussions on a variety of topics involving all participants.
Discussion on the 2nd day of the conference
Presentations
Ko Se-hyun spoke about the qualifications required of editors, as well as the significance and cultural value of publishing books deemed unacceptable by American-style corporate publishing. Cheng Sanguo discussed the need for participants to consider how to preserve reading culture by studying promotional efforts for reading in different regions and developing concrete measures for that purpose. Otsuka Nobukazu gave a presentation on the history and current state of advertising in Japanese publishing.
Discussions
With Ryusawa Takeshi serving as moderator, participants engaged in discussions on such topics as publication quality and the proper scale for publishing houses; the social status of editors and their role in publishing houses; the changing ratio of frontlist to backlist sales; the potential of digital publishing; proposals for the promotion of reading; and government-related support for publishing.
As part of the afternoon discussion, Chao Feng, Vice President of the Chinese Editors’ Society, presented a report on "adjustment" as a crucial element of the 11th Five-Year Plan for the Chinese publishing industry, stating that the next five years are a critical period as Chinese publishing becomes increasingly market-driven. Finally, Keiji Kato and Dong Xiuyu concluded the conference with their respective summations of the discussions.
Participants in the Second East Asia Publishers Conference, Hangzhou
