Yowza. While we thought Jon Huntsman was being a bit hyperbolic the other day with his claim of Chinese government sponsored hacking (which turned out to have more substantial proof than first thought), it turns out the real China fearmongering horse in the Republican race is Mitt Romney. more ›

Baidu.com, China’s search engine Goliath, has combined forces with three major American record companies to develop what is hoped to be a breakthrough against music piracy in the People’s Republic. more ›

Owen Fletcher of the WSJ reports, "It wasn’t as dramatic as in years past, when intellectual property authorities used steam-rollers instead of shredding machines, but what a recent Chinese anti-piracy activity lacked in heavy machinery it more than made up for in quantity."
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Spotted by ICS host Steven Weathers was this poster of Haibao dealing out some street justice to some fake DVDs. In his hand, a real DVD is lifted up to the heavens. Now you know: Haibao gets violent when it comes to pirated movies/software. more ›

Much like China's ongoing efforts against actual piracy, it seems that the government has been taking steps to curb piracy of the intellectual variety. Shifting from targeting individual sellers to wholesalers and manufacturers, Shanghai's "Cultural Inspection Team" has apparently confiscated over 20,000 pirated cds and 5,000 books in 246 "significant" busts in preparation for the Expo. If you do the math, though, that's about 100 cds/books per bust, which doesn't seem that significant to us. As it seems the goods aren't even made in Shanghai, we're not altogether too impressed. more ›

In a not too surprising turn of events, Microsoft 7 has been "released" early to the Chinese market. The New York Times reports that a week before the official Windows OS release date, electronics markets all across Shanghai are bursting with copies of the new software for around just 20RMB, not to mention that the software has been available on Taobao for weeks already. Microsoft has already lowered the price for their software to reflect Chinese wallets, but at 399RMB, its still 20 times more expensive than its pirated counterpart. While we'll be good kids and buy the real version, we bet locals will have a hard time justifying 399 yuan versus 20 yuan when it's practically the same thing. That's like a different of 379 baozi! more ›

• Shanghai Scrap shows solidarity with Fox News's Roger Friedman by buying a copy of that leaked yet-to-be-released summer blockbuster, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. [Shanghai Scrap]
• He's not the first to do so either. Lost Laowai had already scooped up a fake DVD copy just days after the leak... and then took the time to school a fenqing on the differences between piracy and those looted relic heads. [Lost Laowai]
• Not quitting the new battle for currency supremacy, China is moving to globalize the yuan and promote it overseas - and Shanghai gets to be the command central. [LA Times]
• A cluster of old buildings first constructed in the Qing Dynasty are saved from urban demolition after a national survey of cultural relics finds that many exist in there. They're located in the Chenhang area in Minhang. [Xinhua]

Sure, here in China there's legitimate download sites and there's mp3.baidu.com, but if you've ever wanted to straggle the fence between legality and piracy, there's a way to do that too. Taobao has long been harboring many iTunes store gift voucher hackers, selling $200 USD (1,368 RMB) gift cards for as little as 18RMB. more ›

• Organized crime ramps up film piracy efforts [Hollywood Reporter] How much terrorism have you funded? "Organized crime is taking on a larger role in film piracy, according to a new report from the RAND Corp. being released Tuesday. And though it could point to only a handful of examples where the profits from piracy have been used to support terrorist activities, the report warns that the terrorist connection could increase in the future."
• China food security 'grim' [Reuters] "A new food-safety law, approved on Saturday in an accelerated process since the milk scandal came to light in September, attempts to fix a fragmentary regulatory system which officials blame for recurring problems."
• China hails “online democracy” as Wen goes live on the Web [China Media Project] "So why do China’s leaders continue to talk about Internet technology as though it is an exciting and viable new alternative to that old-fashioned democratic technology — the voting booth? Because, at risk of sounding like a broken record, the Internet is the perfect distraction. It is a far-reaching medium symbolic of change that party officials can use to push the perception that political change is happening in China and that leaders are more responsive to citizens."

We chanced upon this mildly amusing "report" on counterfeits and piracy in China from Hoofy & Boo's News & Views which claims to be the first ever animated business television show. Apparently the show has been designed for serious entrepreneurs and investors. For more of their clips, click here. more ›

• Those of you who want to buy a cheap DVD of the Olympic opening ceremony had better hurry up as the Shanghai Culture Inspection Team is planning a crackdown on pirated versions of this show. No worries though, the official DVD of the ceremony will still be available RMB 55.
• Just as school is about to start Shanghai has been listed as the most expensive city for university and college students in mainland China. According to the China News Agency's, a university student in Shanghai needs to spend about RMB1000 on food and housing each month. In the cheapest city for students, Chongqing, just RMB500 would suffice each month!
• As anyone living here will have noticed, a storm with heavy thunder and rain — the worst in 100 years — hit Shanghai on Monday the 25th. No casualties have been reported, but over 60 of the city's streets were flooded.

Photo by Aether Woo more ›

Talk about taking the fun out of a quintessential part of the China experience! Chinese authorities announced that there will be a round-the-clock drive to stamp out pirated movies, music and software in Beijing and other cities hosting Games events. China has for years faced complaints from Western companies and politicians that it does not fight hard enough against piracy. We believe it is not possible to completely eradicate this thriving business but for the period of the Olympics, we know better than to underestimate the will and determination behind an edict passed on down from above. Reuters reports that sweeping checks across Beijing in shops, hotels and sidewalks have already dampened the usually brisk business. more ›

Video: France24 report of China's fight against piracy. more ›