Taiwan Culture

Southeast Asian Bookstore in New Taipei Closes After a Decade

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By James Lin/Kama Hsu/Tiffany Wong

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For a decade, Brilliant Time, a Southeast Asian bookstore, has been a safe haven for migrants and immigrants to Taiwan, providing literature from their homelands. Now, it's closing its doors. Owners Chang Cheng and Yunchan Liao reflect on what the bookstore has meant for them and the communities they serve.

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Beloved Southeast Asian Bookstore in New Taipei Closes After a Decade 

Brilliant Time, a one-of-its-kind bookstore dedicated to Southeast Asian literature and culture, is closing its doors after 10 years. Located in the Nanshijiao neighborhood of New Taipei, the store has long been a cultural sanctuary for Taiwan’s growing Southeast Asian community — and for Taiwanese seeking to understand it. 

Co-founders Chang Cheng and Yun-chan Liao opened the shop to provide books, lectures and community events for migrant workers, foreign spouses and anyone curious about the region’s rich cultures. Now, they say, their mission is complete. 

“In the past decade, Taiwan’s libraries have started to offer Southeast Asian books,” said Chang. “The government uses its budget to buy books for migrant workers and foreign spouses to read, so I think that our basic goal has been achieved.” 

The couple created more than just a bookstore. “I’ll most miss the customers who just happened to stop by,” said Liao. “Honestly, we didn’t know who we’d meet at the store. But as soon as you came in, you’d make some amazing friends.” 

Brilliant Time became a social hub for Taiwan’s 800,000 migrant workers — most from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand — as well as the country’s estimated 500,000 “new immigrants,” often foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens. These communities frequently face social and institutional barriers and the bookstore offered a rare space where language, heritage and storytelling could flourish freely. 

“I really feel like Brilliant Time lets people from different places stick together,” said visitor Gem Wu. “I always feel there’s a magic here, like a book club. In just two short hours I go on a really rewarding journey.” 

Inside the store, postcards, drawings and signatures from visitors fill the walls. A handwritten logbook — filled with names in Thai, Indonesian, Burmese, Chinese and English — tracked borrowed books, though with no due dates or penalties, many were never returned. But the owners say it was never about the books. 

Even as the physical store shuts down, the mission continues. The founders are now bringing books directly to migrant workers — setting up a mobile library every weekend at Taipei Main Station, a popular gathering spot for Indonesian workers on their day off. 

“Although the bookstore in Nanshijiao is closing, we’ll still continue to operate here,” said Chang. “Whether it’s me, my wife or a volunteer, we will take turns maintaining this space. There are 1,000 Indonesians here. At least one or two will be book lovers.” 

Indeed, within minutes of setting up, curious readers flocked to the pop-up library. “I like books about businessmen,” said one young man, grinning. Another added, “I like history books, fiction, comics.” 

As the bookstore’s final chapter is written, its spirit lives on — not just in the books it lent but in the bonds it built. Brilliant Time may be over, but its impact endures in the lives and stories of Taiwan’s diverse communities.