China sets fire to pirated material
Authorities destroy 42 million illegal goods
Beijing was badly stung by Washington's decision last week to file two trade cases against China in the World Trade Organization (WTO), saying it is not tough enough on piracy.
China has "expressed great regret and strong dissatisfaction" over Washington's move to file trade complaints over copyright piracy and restrictions on the sale of American books, music, videos and movies. It says the complaints could damage trade between the countries.
Workers across the country set fire to 30 million pieces of smuggled and pirated audio and video materials, software and 11 million copies of pirated and illegally published books and magazines.
"Through the act of destruction, we wish to show to the world the firm determination of the Chinese government in protecting intellectual property," Long Xinmin, chief of the State Press and Publication Administration, told the Xinhua news agency.
Long added the campaign also was meant to "improve the awareness of the general public in fighting against pornography and illegal publications."
Last week, the Ministry of Culture said it had dispatched a staggering 5 million people to inspect 4.16 million venues for pirated products and porn in 2006.
A quarter of the pirated goods were destroyed in the southern province of Guangdong, across the border from Hong Kong. There, enforcers used shredders to destroy 10 million pirated discs and 500,000 illegal publications.
Between 1994 and 2005, China confiscated 1.5 billion "illegal publications," of which more than 1 billion were pirated discs and 88.23 million were pornographic DVDs. More than 40,000 illegal printing houses and 221 production lines have been closed down.
Earlier this month, China's Supreme Court lowered the threshold to prosecute people who manufacture or sell counterfeit products, stipulating that anyone who manufactures 500 or more pirated software and audio-video products can face a prison term of up to three years.
