The Hong Kong government has done "a very good job" in combating piracy and protecting intellectual property rights (IPR), a US official said here in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Victoria Espinel, assistant US trade representative for intellectual property rights, who led a US government official team touring Asia to promote a Bush administration initiative called "STOP" -- Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy, praised Hong Kong as a "key partner" in reinforcing IPR.
   
During the Asian tour, the US team met with customs, commerce and justice officials in Singapore, Japan, South Korea and China's Hong Kong, sharing information and experience on efforts to combat the theft of inventions, brands and ideas, said Espinel.
   
She said that the tour was an important opportunity to begin developing cooperative enforcement mechanisms that might "make life as miserable as possible for the counterfeiters and pirates."
   
The "STOP" initiative, first announced in October 2004, was designed to help American businesses reach out to like-minded trading partners and build an international coalition to stop piracy and counter-feiting worldwide, according to Espinel.
   
The team's Asian tour was just the very first step to build an anti-piracy world network, and outreach efforts to other regions would follow in May, said Espinel.

(Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2005)