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Tò-uat Books is familiar to anyone in Taipei on a certain side of the political spectrum. The store has aligned itself with certain political causes: signs in the front window support the rights of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Ukrainians and Hong Kongers. ‘Tò-uat’ means ‘turn left’ in Taiwanese Hokkien—a signal of political orientation rather than a literal direction—and the bookstore’s website describes itself as “Taiwan’s only social movement–focused bookstore”.
“There are many independent bookstores in Taiwan and I think what makes us different is we care about public issues the most,” says Chang Hui-ju, the founder, who opened the bookstore six years ago and moved it to its location on Zhenjiang Street in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District in 2019. “It’s about the value of freedom of speech and [customers] can publish or say anything here.”
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