On August 19 of this year the Chinese news reported that the
Beijing Chidong Culture and Media Company began a lawsuit against a
Japanese TV station.? Apparently SKYperfecTV on Channel 785
broadcast their Japanese production of the Chinese TV series Ku
Cai Hua without getting any authorization or giving any
payment. In fact, Japanese TV stations are currently alleged to
have broadcast up to 500 unauthorized (and unpaid for) Chinese TV
series, totaling approximately 9,000 episodes.
Understandably some very irate Chinese feel certain that the
Japanese are liable for copyright infringement, at the price of 10
to 15 million Japanese yen per episode. The lawsuit will be held in
Japanese courts.
The situation made me think about the words of my old friend
Gary Kott, an author who made his fortune writing the
super-successful Bill Cosby Show. He'd told me over five
years ago that if China outsourced all the US jobs: automobiles,
clothing, steel, food and agriculture, the United States would
always be able to make a good living by exporting entertainment.
"The US has the best movies and shows on the planet," he bragged.
"We out-entertain everybody; the whole world will willingly pay to
watch our stuff. And they do."
"Well," I reported back to him after settling in China.
"Everybody pays but the Chinese. You can buy a pirated version of
any best selling movie or book that was made into a movie virtually
a week after it comes out, for peanuts. The Chinese do not respect
copyright laws; they claim it is the will of the masses to skip
payments and provide affordable goods for their poor."
Well, China isn't poor anymore, despite their protestations. Is
a country that builds nuclear power plants and sends men into space
poor? China has the fourth largest economy in the world and is
expected to soon surpass Germany. The country has magnificently
morphed into a production giant faster and better than any other
country in the world. But now the red giant is feeling the same
aches and pains other developed countries felt: piracy, pollution,
and employees. China has blithely swiped patents, copyrights and
ideas that the rest of the world was obliged to pay millions to
develop and beaucoup bucks to install or view.
The Chinese government doesn't seriously police intellectual
property rights. Officials have, in effect, created a vast global
subsidy (just as the Chinese banks subsidize national industries)
available to every Chinese citizen. For entertainment and work
purposes billions of dollars of counterfeit computer programs, CDs,
and DVDs are very cheaply mass-produced nationwide. The
government's defense in regard to computer programs, such as the
prestigious Adobe Suite (25RMB; I paid US$299 for only non-pirated
Photoshop), states that because the average Chinese can't afford
the program, Adobe hasn't literally lost money at all.
This mentality is colonial. But have the western nations, once
the great colonial powers of the world, acted any differently?
British, Dutch and French armies voyaged deep into the heart of
Africa, excavating the most valuable assets: diamonds, hardwoods,
even humanity, and in doing so, undermined the Africans' abilities
to defend themselves or counterattack. The Spanish and the English
acted similarly in North America and South America, even decimating
the indigenous populations. Pointing fingers at China for a lack of
ethics, immoral business practices and just downright foul play has
no real moral value coming from countries that have done the same
or worse in their own business histories.
While western nations shout and point fingers, they are also
investing billions of dollars, allowing special economic
concessions, along with subsidized technology training programs. By
betting on China as the next world's manufacturing marketplace,
western nations are practically giving away expertise,
infrastructure, machines and technology in exchange for polluting
up the place. The world is greedy and self-serving; everyone wants
a piece of the low wage China action. And because they cannot force
China to behave, the western nations are willing to treat her as a
coy mistress, bestowing favors in hopes of larger rewards.
China's economy continues to boom at unprecedented rates. She
has entered the world's largest markets, merged with multinationals
and created her own brands. Obviously the country has created
alluring entertainment standards, or the Japanese would not have
stolen those TV shows.? China, as the victim of humiliating
colonization attempts from various western powers, like a violated
woman, feels no remorse at all by pilfering property from the
world.
But the country has reached a higher level of prosperity, a
standard where her own goods are seen fit to be pilfered. Can
China, the now audacious but still defensive super power, really
shout: "foul" at Japan or anyone else?
David Baker said; "I think we always move from imitation to
assimilation to innovation, but I can't name you 20 people outside
those we've already recognized who ever got to point three:
innovation." As China's star rises in the economic universe will
the country continue to repeat the colonial mistakes of the west?
Piracy, environmental destruction and inadequate health coverage:
all these kinds of neglectful issues could easily transform China's
star into a fleeting comet. By dint of population and a focus on
higher education, the country now has droves of intelligent,
trained scholars. Unfortunately many creative Chinese fear that
their own people will pirate their work and will only design games
for cell phones because they can't be copied. Without inspiring in
these innovators a drive to design the very best technologies, the
highest quality manufactured goods, the most alluring
entertainment, without a desire to strive for excellence the nation
is doomed. Not just China but the entire world will suffer.
(China.org.cn by Valerie Sartor, August 28, 2007)
