Macau Pavilion held at HK Book Fair

The Macao Foundation and the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) co-operated to organize the Macau Pavilion at the 2018 Hong Kong Book Fair for the eighth consecutive year, and host a joint exhibition with the Macao Polytechnic Institute and the Plaza Cultural Macau bookshop.

This year, the pavilion showcased over 800 local publications which aimed to promote Macau culture to Hong Kong and foreign readers via the Book Fair, according to a statement from the IC.

On July 19, the IC launched the book “Macao and the British, 1637–1842: Prelude to Hong Kong” in conjunction with a lecture given by Professor Ye Nong of Jinan University’s Research Institute of Chinese Culture and History.

The lecture explored the development of Sino-British relations during a period in which the Portuguese administration of Macau secretly interacted with both the Chinese Qing government and the British.

The Macao Foundation also launched the book “Macau Cantonese” as part of the “Macau Wisdom Collection” series, in conjunction with a lecture.

While Cantonese is widely spoken in Macau, Hong Kong and Guangdong province, the accent and diction of Macau Cantonese differs slightly from that of other regions. According to the IC, the variation of accents throughout the ages also reflects the social development of Macau.

The Hong Kong Book Fair is one of the largest book fairs in Asia. Held from July 18 to 24, the fair is now in its 29th year, building on the success of last year, when it attracted almost 1 million visitors.