The price of knowledge

The days when Chinese refused to pay for anything they downloaded from the internet seem to be over

When the pioneering US file-sharing software Napster was forced off the air 16 years ago amid allegations that its users were essentially stealing music, the internet in China was just beginning to get into full swing.

In the years that have followed, Chinese internet users have become freeloaders par excellence, used to downloading music, films and books free of charge, even as their counterparts in the West have become increasingly accustomed to the idea that in cyberspace someone ultimately has to pay for content.