In this public service announcement that ran in The Beijing News today, the Central Publicity Department, the Party Office of Spiritual Civilization Development and Guidance, and the General Administration of Press and Publication remind you that 23 April is “World Reading Day” (世界读书日), the Chinese name for UNESCO’s “World Book and Copyright Day.”
The slogan on the book in the illustration reads “One good book, wealth for a lifetime.”
Last year, popular historian and essayist Yu Qiuyu caused a minor controversey when he spoke out against creating a “national reading day”; part of his argument was that the UNESCO event was sufficient.
And on “World Reading Day” in 2006, Xinhua journalist Han Song blogged about the reading habits of government officials.