China ferreted out 17 illegal CD production lines and seized 169 million illegal publications in 2005 in its nationwide crackdown on pornographic and illegal publications. This was announced at a national work conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

 

In addition, China banned the further production of 79 illegal newspapers and 50 games software and prosecuted several perpetrators.

 

"Our efforts have shown that we are determined to fight piracy and are serious about intellectual property rights protection," Liu Yunshan, head of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China , said.

 

"We encourage local governments and the relevant departments to severely crack down on illegal publications, purify the cultural market, and strengthen intellectual property right protection measures," he added.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2006)