China piracy crackdown nets 49 million items

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-05-22 23:32

China's latest crackdown on "pornographic and illegal" books, magazines and DVDs has netted 49 million items, state media reported on Tuesday, claiming that 90 percent of the confiscated products were pirated.

President Hu Jintao has been pressing officials to staunch the country's appetite for sexually explicit and politically corrosive entertainment. The National Office for Cleaning Up Pornography and Fighting Illegal Publications announced the fruits of this campaign, Xinhua news agency reported.

In the first four months of this year, law officers confiscated 2.75 million pornographic publications and illegal newspapers and magazines, and nearly 3 million smuggled entertainment discs, the report said.

The report did not spell out what the other tens of millions of confiscated items were, though they appeared to be pirate copies of films and music.

But it said the campaign had shut down 13,000 shops and stalls, 364 printing plants, and 97 Web sites. As well, 165 people were convicted.



Top China News  
Today's Top News  
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours