The more I learn about China, the more I realize that most of what happens in China has everything to do with cultural differences and little to do with the Chinese Communist Party. After all the more than 80-million members of the CCP are Chinese.
In 2008, Lisa Wang wrote a post for China Law and Practice.com of Searching for Liability: Online Copyright Infringement in China.
Lisa Wang said, “The digital copying of music, images, and video, and their distribution over the internet (in China) can provide hours of entertainment for the general public and multiple migraines for rights holders.”
Many in the West that read this may think infringement of copyright in China is done to make money by selling fake copies but, while somewhat true, that isn’t always the case.
The Economist reported how difficult it was to make a profit in the toughest recorded-music market in the world, which is China, because many chinse will not pay to download music from the Internet.
Instead, people in China download music free from a number of sites where other Chinese have made the music available. Despite government censorship, many Chinese download pirated videos and watch the latest movie releases and television shows from America.
Pirated American TV shows are so widespread in China, Wentworth Miller, who is best-known for his role in the Fox television show Prison Break, was mobbed by his fans when he visited China. However, Prison Break is not officially broadcast by Chinese television stations.
If China’s censors block a foreign TV show or movie, the Chinese may often watch pirated DVDs or go on-line to watch pirated versions for free.
I know an American expatriate living in China that watches the latest American movies for free a few days after they hit the theaters in America, and he streams them on-line.
The Chinese have a reputation for being frugal and saving money and this may be another way to achieve that goal by cooperatively helping each other read books and watch movies for free.
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of My Splendid Concubine, Crazy is Normal, Running with the Enemy, and The Redemption of Don Juan Casanova.
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