More than 1.81 million pirated CDs and DVDs were seized in a
production factory in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province on March 17, in the largest
single crackdown on CD and DVD piracy in the country's history.
Thirty production machines in 11 warehouses were confiscated and
13 people arrested.
The production base was located near the airport expressway so
the illegal products could be easily transported to other regions
in China, said Li Baozhong, deputy director of the national office
responsible for cracking down on pornographic and illegal
publications.
"The crackdown will help deter piracy in China," Li added.
"This case revealed new tricks by the pirates. The criminals
erase the production ID code on the discs in order to destroy
evidence showing who provided the original discs," Li said.
"We calculate that if all 30 machines in the production base
were in operation for eight hours, more than 300,000 pirated discs
could be produced in one night," Li added.
China's Ministry of Public Security last month urged police to
step up the fight against piracy, focusing on software, CDs, and
DVDs.
A circular from the ministry said the continued fight against
piracy is still an arduous task, and should be a priority for
public security departments nationwide.
Public security departments would offer rewards for information
on piracy crimes, and work to arrest the organizers and
ringleaders.
China has launched a "spring campaign" against illegal and
pirated publications that will last until May.
(Xinhua News Agency April 4, 2007)