Zhang Yimou appeals for sterner action against film piracy
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Renowned Chinese film director Zhang Yimou called on the government to take sterner action against "rampant" film piracy, during the ongoing parliamentary session.
"Boosting copyright protection is key to the healthy development of film industry and the prosperity of cultural market," said Zhang, also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
He added that some home movies with fairly good box offices were forced to withdraw from cinema in less than two weeks as many were copied two or three days after its debut.
Zhang Yimou, submitted a proposal to the ongoing annual session of the National Committee of CPPCC, together with other five members, including Zhang Huijun, president of Beijing Film Academy, and other famed directors Feng Xiaogang, Yin Li, Feng Xiaoning and Chen Guoxing.
The proposal says although China has registered progress in intellectual property rights protection, film piracy and unauthorized broadcasting are still rampant, if not going worse, frustrating film practitioners.
The 60-year-old Zhang made his directorial debut in 1987 with the film Red Sorghum. Since then, Zhang has established his international reputation through exploration in a variety of genres in the art world. He directed the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
Zhang Huijun proposed to have more cinemas built and retrofitted,especially in China's tier 2 and tier 3 cities to curb the market of piracy.
Yin Li called for state funding to carry out technological research and upgrading so that film piracy could become technologically impossible.
China's 2010 box office topped an unprecedented 10 billion yuan (1.5 billion U.S. dollars), according to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.
Domestic films took in 5.73 billion yuan, or 56.3 percent of the total.
China has launched several rounds of nation-wide crack-down on piracy since last year and the campaign is still going on.
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