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Greater China

Jun 28, 2005

China world's No 1 counterfeit source

TAIPEI - China is the world's largest source and market for counterfeit goods and the poor-quality products that it makes will seriously hurt its economy and pose a major latent threat to public security, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman You Ying-lung said last Friday.

Citing the finding of a report commissioned by the MAC, You said that due to the Chinese authorities' lax controls, about 70% of the world's bootleg products come from China, ranging from brand-name clothing to medicine. Nearly 90% of consumers have purchased such fake products, he claimed.

Quoting statistics compiled by China's General Administration of Quality Supervision and Quarantine, You said that counterfeit goods worth a total of 11.1 billion renminbi (US$1.34 billion) were seized by Chinese law enforcement authorities from April 2001 to October 2004, posing great losses to consumers and original producers.

According to the report, China's increased counterfeiting has seriously hit many worldwide famous brands and it has become an international issue. Estimates show that US enterprises suffer as much as US$250 billion in business losses each year due to mainly China-made counterfeit products, according to the report, which added that various upscale brand names have halted plans to enter the Chinese market as a result.

The report ascribed the rampant counterfeiting in China to various factors that include a lack of public respect for intellectual property rights, lax government regulations and punishments and strong local demand. China's vast size has also helped worsen the problem, it added.

(Asia Pulse/CNA)

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