A veteran screen writer spoke to China.org.cn about how to encourage, help and protect the original scriptwriters for China's film and TV industries.

"Nowadays, people always pay higher attention to directors and the stars of films and TV series than screenwriters, who actually wrote the stories," said Wang Xingdong, a member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and vice chairman of the China Film Association, who is attending the annual session of China's top political advisory body.

"When you drink the water, remember the source," he said, "How much we respect the original creation shows how civilized our nation is. Only when we respect the original creation and protect the interests of the creators, can the variety of arts be prosperous."

He cited J.K. Rowling, the U.K. creator of the Harry Potter series, and other Hollywood screenwriters as examples of how foreign countries respect and treat the original writers.

He stressed that the rule of law should be applied to the film industry and make sure the Copyright Law of China and the Berne Convention can be fully enforced, especially the heavy punishment of those who plagiarize. At the same time, screenwriters should improve themselves in writing by getting deeper inside common people's lives and find inspiration.

"We should make a black list of those plagiarists and tidy up the industry," he said, and pointed out that Taiwanese writer Chiung Yao won the case against mainland screenwriter Yu Zheng who was accused of copying her 1993 book and television series "Plum Blossom Scar" last year, which is an exciting precedent set for all Chinese screenwriters.

In a proposal he submitted to the National Committee of the CPPCC, he suggested that China should establish more authorized magazines to publish the original scripts by writers for filmmakers to discover and purchase, and for the public to see, compare, review and study. He also suggested that the Chinese government allocate funds of 5 million yuan to help original screen plays in a program which could publish 100 scripts a year, 10 of which could be turned into films.