Among the measures to be adopted to smash the racket will be the payment of cash rewards to informers.

Top officials from the National Copyright Administration (NCA) said the new committee will play a vital role in bringing together the country's anti-piracy forces in the fight against all kinds of copyright piracy.

"The anti-piracy efforts by a single unit or organization are limited. Only when those efforts are united together can they weave a huge copyright protection network and give pirates nowhere to hide," said Shi Zongyuan, minister of the NCA.

He said the idea of establishing the anti-piracy committee was initiated by his administration, and was extremely well received by local copyright bureaus and publishing companies.

"It reflects the strong desire of the industry for anti-piracy efforts," Shi said.

Through the functions of the newly-established committee, publishing companies and copyright bearers can have closer ties with related law enforcement departments in cracking down on pirates and securing compensation.

Another advantage is that members of the committee could network information. When they identify piracy in one area they will be able to disseminate details via the committee's website and alert members elsewhere to be on the lookout for similar pirated works.

In an effort to encourage ordinary people joining in the anti-piracy campaign, the committee plans to establish a special fund to reward those who provide useful tip-offs.

Representatives from more than 20 provinces attended the inauguration yesterday, and most of them expressed considerable enthusiasm for the proposals.

A representative from Hunan Province, who only gave his surname as Zhang, said the government background of the anti-piracy committee will lend it considerable weight and be a great help.

"I never know what will happen after reporting acts of piracy to law-enforcement departments. Most of the time I would wait for months for nothing," he said.

With help of the government-sponsored copyright committee, Zhang said he hopes the whole investigation and compensation process will be improved.

(China Daily October 28, 2002)