A Chinese saying that "Outside monks preach better (than local monks)" is very appropriate lately. In recent years, a large number of fake foreign books have sprung up in China, some becoming best-sellers.

Local publishers have found that translated foreign books sell better than domestic ones. But it is costly to publish foreign books, and now fabricated books are being increasingly sold as authentic.

It is easy to fabricate a best-seller in the Internet and Computer Age.

Writers are given foreign names, attractive titles are chosen, and information and data are copied from other books or the internet.

With the help of a computer, it takes merely a few days to complete a fake book.

The majority of these illegal works are self-help books focusing on telling people the correct ways of thinking, setting life-goals, looking for a job, or leading a better life. These books sell well in bookstores or books-stands on sidewalks and in subway stations.

Many of these fake books have been published by legal publishing houses.

Liu Ming, a 27 year-old lawyer from Zhengzhou City, central China, has sued five publishing houses and three bookstores for publishing and selling fake foreign books.

"It has nothing to do with money," Liu said.

He sued the eight defendants for a small compensation of 176.2 yuan (about US$21), though he put up 300 yuan (about US$37) in the court charges himself.

"It's not important whether I can win the lawsuit," he said. "I just want to awaken the consumers of their rights."

(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2005)