China’s latest propaganda efforts score a hit with country’s DVD pirates

Chinese propaganda films a hit with DVD pirates

BEIJING — Pirates are raining on China’s big parade.

Police in China, where DVD and other product piracy is rampant, are hunting down illegal copies of two new propaganda films made in honor of the nation’s 60th anniversary Thursday. Celebrations are to include a massive military parade in Beijing.

Authorities have warned that any copies of the historical epic “The Founding of a Republic” and the World War II-era drama “The Message” currently being sold are fakes and should be reported to police.

“Founding of the Republic” is more star-studded than a typical Chinese propaganda piece. It features a host of top movie stars, including martial arts stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Tiger,” Stephen Chow of “Kung Fu Hustle” and action picture director John Woo, among many others. It’s already premiered in theaters but is not meant for DVD release until Oct. 16.

“The Message,” a spy drama set in Japanese-occupied northern China, will be officially available on DVD from Nov. 13.

Pirated copies of these films are to be confiscated and production and copying facilities destroyed, according to a notice posted Monday on the Web site of the national watchdog in charge of combatting pornography and piracy.

Disc-copying companies across the country will also be warned against making copies of the two films, the notice said, without specifying how many copies had already been confiscated.

Hollywood industry group MPA says more than 90 percent of DVDs in China are pirated. Piracy in the country is estimated to cost American studios hundreds of millions of dollars and Chinese studios billions of dollars in lost potential box office revenue each year.