U.S. and Hong Kong (1998)

01 May 1998

USTR WELCOMES NEW HONG KONG MOVES AGAINST PIRACY

Following is the official text of the statement:

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USTR WELCOMES NEW HONG KONG MOVES AGAINST PIRACY

United States Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky today welcomed new actions taken by Hong Kong authorities against a major copyright piracy syndicate. In raids on April 26, Hong Kong authorities seized some seven million compact discs, and closed a facility capable of producing 1.2 million compact discs per day. At the time of the raid, the facility was producing pirated U.S. movies and U.S. sound recordings. 100,000 U.S. sound recording CDs and 600,000 VCDs containing U.S. movies were among the seven million discs seized.

Ambassador Barshefsky said, "I am pleased that Hong Kong has launched enforcement actions against those who are stealing U.S. movies, sound recordings and software. The size of the raid is staggering. While the raid is an encouraging event, it demonstrates the magnitude of the IPR piracy problem in Hong Kong, and in the region."

Under pressure from the U.S. Government, Hong Kong has recently enacted new legislation that will require special licensing of all CD production facilities in Hong Kong. The new law, scheduled to become effective in August, will give Hong Kong authorities new powers to control illegal CD production of all types.

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