Zhe Fu, known in China for his novels on environmental protection, was the first Chinese writer to publish his work on the Internet by signing a contract with a local website.
To his surprise, the writer recently found that his personal homepage on the website had gone nowhere. He later learned that his page had been replaced by a commercial page due to the merger of two companies who reorganized their businesses and closed down some of the homepages without any prior notice to the owners.
The website has broken its three-year contract with the writer but is unwilling to pay any compensation for the illegal closure of the personal homepage.
Zhe Fu was enraged and has decided to take the website owner to court. "It is not a matter of money as the whole Internet industry is at a low ebb, but it is for the protection of my rights," he said.
At a national meeting of the Chinese Writers Association convened in Beijing not long ago, many participants showed their sympathy and support for Zhe Fu.
In fact, Zhe Fu is not the first and nor the last to have his rights infringed on line. Many writers told Xinhua that they are also victims of illegal activities.
Zhang Xianliang, a writer known for novels based on his experience in the western region, said that all the reporters he meets tell him they have read his works on line, but so far, Zhang has only authorized a website to publish two of his novels.
Liu Heng, another well-known writer, showed his strong support for Zhe Fu. "Any party to a contract who has infringed the rights of the other party must be punished," he said.
(China Daily January 3, 2002)
