In Taiwan, the long-established magazine “Reader’s Digest,” which has a wide readership, celebrated its 60th anniversary in May this year. However, it has recently announced that it will cease publication in August due to the continuously rising costs, officially bringing an end to the magazine that has accompanied readers for 60 years.
On July 21, “Reader’s Digest” released the “Reader’s Digest Cessation of Publication Notice” through the online subscription system of “Zhongyou Books,” which was widely circulated on the internet on July 22.
According to reports from the Central News Agency, contacting the Taiwanese English magazine company that acts as the agent for distributing “Reader’s Digest” confirmed the news of the publication ceasing.
The “Cessation of Publication Notice” stated, “This iconic printed edition (referring to the physical magazine) is about to cease publication. We have tried various ways to continue publishing, but unfortunately, the continuously rising costs have made it difficult to sustain the printing and publishing model. We deeply regret having to make this difficult decision.” “The Chinese version of ‘Reader’s Digest, Reader’s Digest Asia June/July/2025’ will be the final issue, and the publisher will quickly handle refunds for the remaining issues, once again offering our profound apologies.”
The English version of “Reader’s Digest” has a history of over a century, while the Chinese version has been around for 60 years.
Founded in the United States in 1922, “Reader’s Digest” was based on the concept of “excerpting the best articles from all magazines.” The founder, DeWitt Wallace, who was injured in battle, read numerous magazines during his recovery, absorbing a lot of interesting information. Realizing that not many people had the time to read so many magazines, he had the idea to excerpt and condense these articles for publication. He and his wife independently published the first issue of “Reader’s Digest” at home, which became very popular. By 1935, the circulation of “Reader’s Digest” had reached one million copies.
The Chinese version of “Reader’s Digest” was planned in 1965 by the daughter of renowned translator Lin Yutang, Lin Taiyi. She also served as the first editor-in-chief and it was formally distributed in Hong Kong and Taiwan, causing a sensation. At the time, this magazine was hailed as “a window for readers to access the world.” “Reader’s Digest” went public in mainland China in 2008.
During its golden age, “Reader’s Digest” was published in 19 languages with 48 editions, distributed in over 60 countries globally, with an estimated total circulation exceeding tens of millions of copies. The English versions included the U.S., UK, Australia, Canada, and more, while the Chinese versions were divided into traditional and simplified Chinese editions.
However, in the age of the internet, the traditional “digest” style magazines could no longer keep up. The U.S. headquarters of “Reader’s Digest” declared bankruptcy in 2012 and pulled out of the mainland China market. Nevertheless, the traditional Chinese version continued to be distributed in Taiwan and Hong Kong, switching to a bimonthly release in 2023. The 60th-anniversary event was held in May this year, with the Speaker of the Legislative Yuan, Han Kuo-yu, delivering a speech. It was unexpected that within less than two months, the news of the publication ceasing came out.
The discontinuation of “Reader’s Digest” has left many readers feeling regretful.