Seeing Southeast Asia in Taiwan

Opened three months ago, SEAMi stocks a selection of books and magazines from Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia, and is the first Southeast Asian bookstore in Taiwan. All the books and magazines at SEAMi were collected by Zhang Zheng (張正) and Lin Zhou-Xi (林周熙) while working at Bon Phuong (四方報), after they appealed to warmhearted internet friends to “bring back a book in a language that most Taiwanese do not understand”. Lin Zhou-Xi often delivers books to Southeast Asian friends living in Taiwan with the hope that these books from across the ocean aren’t merely put coldly onto a display shelf, but are instead spread around the country to provide company and warmth to friends living in a foreign land.

With the recent opening of Brilliant Time Southeast Asia Themed Bookstore (燦爛時光東南亞主題書店) in New Taipei City, the vision has begun to spread beyond Taoyuan and in the not so distant future, Taichung and Chiayi will also see new stores opening. To realize his dream of ensuring that Southeast Asian friends will always be able to find a taste of home in a foreign country, Zhang Zheng sincerely hopes that one day a “Southeast Asia Bookstore Alliance (東南亞書店大聯盟)” will be established. 

Seeing Southeast Asia in Taiwan

URL:https://www.peopo.org/news/275147

(以下是中文對照)

在台灣望見東南亞

照片

全台灣第一家東南亞書店，望見書間──SEAMi，今年三月底開幕。店內近千本泰國、緬甸、越南、印尼文的書籍和雜誌，都是由曾任職四方報的張正和林周熙在網路上號召熱心的朋友，去東南亞帶一本看不懂的書回來的。林周熙也經常開車到各地借書給在台灣的東南亞朋友，他希望這些漂洋過海的書籍不要只被冷冰冰陳列在架上，而是希望可以散播到各地，陪伴每位在異鄉的朋友。

這個願景不只在桃園，第二間東南亞書店，「燦爛時光」也在新北市開幕了。接下來，在台中、嘉義也會有新的書店成立。張正希望能達成「東南亞書店大聯盟」的計畫，希望所有的東南亞朋友，都可以在異鄉找到故鄉的味道。