Along with the fast development of our cultural market, some negative effects have arisen one after another, such as illegal electronic games, Internet bars that cause great harm to juveniles, rampant pirating activities, smuggling of cultural relics, etc.

In the past year, the cultural department conducted a nationwide campaign to streamline cultural market order, achieving great success. The Xinhua News Agency interviewed Cultural Minister Sun Jiazheng during the NPC and CPPCC sessions on hot issues concerning the cultural market.

Xinhua News Agency: After China joins the World Trade Organization (WTO), fulfills its promises on intellectual property protection and revises The Regulation on the Administration of Audio-video Products, will pirated products decrease?

Sun Jiazheng: Under the overall deployment of the State Council, the cultural department has focused on two measures since last year to attack the rampantly growing pirate market. One is to close illegal trading centers of audio-video products and the other is to quash all kinds of pirating and smuggling activities.

Since the 1990s, over 200 audio-video product-trading centers have been established in over 27 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities using forms of renting and investment. With over 10 clients each, the centers have actually developed into distribution centers of smuggled and pirated audio-video products. With a similar supply channel and product variety, sellers have to compete fiercely for lower prices, and some even run the risk of dealing in pirating, smuggling and pornographic materials. Many sellers jointly escape or even publicly resist law enforcement officials, who are often besieged and assaulted. In addition to violent individuals, the local protective force also interferes and hinders law enforcement, making some audio-video cities completely out of control. Although repeat efforts have been made by the Ministry of Culture to bring them to order, all have failed. The ministry, therefore, has to force them to close. In late December 2001, the three-year national campaign of shutting down illegal audio-video markets came to an end when the last four markets in Urumqi of Xinjiang were closed. By then, a total 277 audio-video cities nationwide had been shut down. By doing so, we have changed the overall arrangement of the audio-video market, greatly enlarging the market share of authentic products.

At the same time, the cultural department launched a one-month campaign to streamline the audio-video market during the fourth quarter last year. Inspection and management officials reinforced daily checks and confiscated many illegal audio-video products. Last year, a total of 9,005 illegal products were publicly destroyed nationwide. On December 2, over 200 cities around the country destroyed the seized illegal audio-video products, which amounted to 1,829. The rampant production and trade of illegal audio-video products began to come under control.

The Regulation on the Administration of Audio-video Products, amended and issued by the State Council at the end of last year, reinforces relevant laws and regulations to better meet the requirement of China's entry into the WTO and to fulfill the obligations of intellectual property protection. Compared to the previous regulation, the present one has a clearer managerial system and a more severe punishment for pirating. According to the previous regulation, punishment was decided in accordance to the amount of illegal income, which often resulted in ambiguity. After the amendment, the regulation adopted the illegal operating amount as its punishment standard. At the same time, the new regulation will investigate those who allow illegal activities. Those who do not perform their duties or cover up illegal activities and cause more severe consequences will be charged with crimes such as bribery, abuse of power, dereliction of duty, and others. Those who do not suit any criminal charge will be demoted or dismissed from their posts.

The new measures will provide a healthy development environment for an authentic audio-video market. From now on, all managerial departments of audio-video products should continue to strengthen the crackdown on pirating and smuggled goods and prevent the revival of audio-video cities under such false names as chain stores or supermarkets. These departments should also reinforce the management of retailers to prevent the emergence of illegal trading centers in forms of scattered or one-street stores. Along with the increasing awareness of intellectual property protection among the masses and concerted efforts joint forces by cultural departments at all levels, pirated products will gradually dissipate.

Xinhua News Agency: The negative effects of computer games and Internet bars were once a great concern of the mass media. Can they be put into order?

Sun Jiazheng: In recent years, the juvenile delinquency caused by corrupt computer programs frequently appeared in the headlines. Some of the young delinquents became addicted to computer games, which had a bad effect on their studies and even influenced some of them to partake in robberies and kidnappings. The whole society showed great concern for such juveniles.

Since 2000, the Ministry of Culture has started restructuring the market and has reduced the number of computer-game venues by 66.6 percent. But the computer-game market remains in chaos, with some of related illegal activities shifting to rural areas, suburbs and other remote areas. The black market became scattered and unlicensed operations became prominent. 

Therefore, in 2001, the cultural department shifted its focus to crackdown on such clandestine activities. At the same time, the examination and approval of new computer-game venues came to a halt, while the total number of existing outlets was expected to decline by more than one-half. The provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities with a great number of computer-game venues were ordered to cut the total number to less than 1,000. Provinces such as Gansu were ordered to close all of its computer-game outlets by the end of 2001. According to rough statistics, after several months, over 12,000 computer-game locations around the country were shut down and illegal activities dealing in computer games were checked.

Once such illegal activities were constrained, some illegal dealers turned their attention to Internet bars. According to rough statistics, unlicensed Internet bars or outlets with incomplete license account for 30.6 percent and even over 50 percent in some places. Off-line games are popular at such Internet bars, where materials such as pornographic pictures and other articles find channels to spread.

Therefore, the Ministry of the Information Industry, Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Culture joined forces to shake up outlets offering on-line services and focused on problems such as unlicensed operations, the admission of minors, provision of dubious information via computer games and other illegal activities. According to rough statistics, 94,000 Internet bars were checked during the campaign among which 20,000 were closed down and another 28,000 were ordered to rectify and improve their management scheme within a given time limit. The disordered management among such operations has been brought under control. 

The flourishing of digital and network technologies has prompted the growth of a new on-line cultural market that provides not only a powerful force for the production and spread of excellent spiritual products, but also a convenient channel for the dissemination of spiritual junk. Various brand-new, on-line cultural entertainments have stirred up great concern in the whole society. At present, some Internet bars have been reduced to computer-game outlets. In addition, corrupt activities still occur due to unsound managerial measures. Regulations on such activities as audio-video electronic commerce should be strengthened to fall in line with the fast-developing, on-line cultural activities.

Since the Internet, in a sense, defies time, space and limits of capacity, the supervision and management of the on-line cultural market becomes much more difficult. The cultural department must, therefore, actively introduce advanced managerial concepts, modes and technologies. Currently, the cultural department should be strengthening the standard management of Internet bars in particular.

Xinhua News Agency: Our cultural market has undergone more than two years of shake-ups. What will we do to meet this challenge after China's WTO entry?

Sun Jiazheng: After the two-year shake-up, the cultural market order has improved to a certain extent, although problems still exist. Due to the lack of personnel, daily managerial work cannot be carried out routinely. Other factors such as local protection also lead to the resurgence of market disorder and a change in form, but not in content, in some places. The cultural department must, therefore, further strengthen reorganizing efforts and put its emphasis on a long-term managerial mechanism. By continuously improving the managerial measure and level, we will brush aside obstacles for the development of advanced culture and create a favorable cultural environment for reform and opening-up, as well as modernization.

From now on, the cultural department will further clarify its management outline, strengthen the macro-regulation and daily management and effectively combine management with construction and development. Take the management of the audio-video market for instance: the management department will crack down on illegal activities while promoting a prosperous market. The department will focus its efforts in maintaining an orderly market and reducing its overall scale while energetically promoting the construction of a distribution center, supermarket, chain stores and an e-commerce system so the audio-video market can form a distribution network with a sound structure for authentic products.

To meet the challenge of foreign-invested products after China's entry into the WTO, we should improve the quality of national cultural products, management measures and managerial level to promote the development and prosperity of the nation's cultural art. At the same time, the cultural department should further probe into a cultural systematic reform under a socialist market economy and endeavor to revive Chinese culture and art under new historical conditions. 

(Source with Xinhua.net)