Today, we are awarding the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade to Liao Yiwu. It is a great
pleasure and a tremendous honour to welcome you on behalf of the city of Frankfurt am Main .
I cannot imagine a more
favourable choice to receive this year’s Prize. And I am especially pleased and
grateful that Liao Yiwu is able to join us today to accept this honour in
person and as a free man. Dear Liao Yiwu, the fact that you are being honoured
with the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade is
impressive proof that words can indeed change the world.
Word can work magic. Words can create
harmony. Words can also document and castigate injustices. Words can change
things! The words in your exceptional work do not belong to those individuals
who seek to use them for their own purposes; they belong first and foremost to
you, the author.
Friedrich Schiller famously argued that art
is the daughter of freedom. And in this sense, you have gifted us your art. We
celebrate you today not as a political figure, but as an outstanding artist for
whom I wish one thing above all: readers. Lots of them. In EVERY country in the
word.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the peace prize of the German Book Trade,
which is handed out each year on the final day of the Frankfurt Book Fair, is a
great symbol of freedom and human dignity. Each October , the eyes of the
global literary world turn to our city. The annual award ceremony in Frankfurt
am Main is a celebration of both democracy and culture. Indeed, the award is
ideally suited to a city saturated in art and culture. Frankfurt considers it a joy
and a responsibility - not an obligation or a burden - to cultivate its
cultural legacy and support contemporary art. The award is also fitting for a city
imbued with the spirit of democracy.
We Frankfurters are very proud that the
Peace Prize is handed out here, especially at the Church of St. Paul ,
which is known as the cradle of German democracy. Only a few days ago, we
marked the annual Day of German Unity, a celebration of a goal that the
Frankfurt Parliament - the first freely elected parliament for all of Germany -
was unable to achieve in the 19th century: freedom and democracy for
the citizens of our country.
Each year, the Frankfurt Book Fair walks a
fine line between culture and commerce, between mind and money. And the last
few days have shown us once again quite clearly how productive this friction
can be. Despite the various crisis scenarios facing the industry, there is very
good reason to pay tribute to the freedom of words here today.
As Mayor of Frankfurt, I am very proud to be
able to call attention to the fact that the German book industry is highly
aware of its responsibility as an important cultural medium and that today it
demonstrates this commitment impressively by awarding the Peace Prize of the
German Book Trade to Liao Yiwu.
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