MKsporton display outside a cinema in Beijing on February 6, 2025. The blockbuster movie has officially surpassed the 2021 war epic The Battle at Lake Changjin to become the highest-grossing film of all time in China. Photo: VCG" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2025/2025-02-07/b2ac8c03-595e-43ae-ad55-77a2e549b1b7.jpeg" />

A poster of Ne Zha 2is on display outside a cinema in Beijing on February 6, 2025.  Photo: VCG

From video game Black Myth: Wukongto the animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2, an increasing number of groundbreaking Chinese cultural works have been gaining international acclaim. However, this rising popularity is also leading to a more severe piracy problem, which urgently needs to establish a comprehensive anti-piracy management mechanism so as to swiftly, accurately and effectively com-bat the illegal behaviors across the entire industry chain, Zhao Dongling, a deputy to the 14th Na-tional People's Congress (NPC), told the Global Times.

The third session of the 14th NPC, China's top legislature, opened on Wednesday, following the annual meeting of China's top political advisory body on Tuesday. This year, a group of deputies and political advisors who are focused on the healthy development of the cultural industry put forward proposals on copyright protection and anti-piracy crackdowns.

Zhao, also a renowned film and TV dramatist, has become increasingly aware of the harm that privacy poses to the industry she has been striving in for over three decades, particularly following the rise of short video platforms.

Some netizens have begun creating story commentaries or reaction videos after watching movies or TV series. However, many of these "fan edits" incorporate excessively long clips from the original work, disclosing too much of the story and causing audiences to lose interest in watching the original work. Zhao noted that this is an emerging issue that could negatively impact the industry's ecosystem and challenge the creation of film and TV works.

At the same time, issues such as pirate websites, pirated resources on cloud storage and unauthorized streaming of audiovisual programs from cloud storage sites continue to thrive. These problems undermine the country's artistic originality and innovative capabilities, resulting in significant economic losses, according to Zhao.

Zhao pointed to a series of crackdowns on piracy that have been conducted by Chinese authorities.

The 2025 Spring Festival period set a new record for the highest box office in the history of Chinese cinema, but behind the prosperity, there were still lots of cameras hiding in corners of dark theaters in cinemas around the country. To remain a booming film industry, authorities have carried out the seventh nationwide initiative targeting film piracy. A total of 2.29 million infringing links related to films released during China's Spring Festival movie season have been removed since January, while more than 40 individuals involved in illicit filming and dissemination had been arrested as of February 20, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Besides these actions, Zhao suggested that different government departments co-establish a comprehensive governance system with no blind spots by enforcing the primary responsibilities of platforms, shutting down pirated websites, and cutting off channels for the sharing and dissemination of pirated resources.

Zhang Yiwu, a member of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC, also focused on the issue of copyright protection.

To control piracy, a "system" of incorporating copyright protection into the country's Criminal Law needs to be expedited, Zhang, who is also a professor of cultural studies at Peking University, told the Global Times. To be more specific, he proposed to establish a rapid-response law enforcement mechanism that includes "refining criteria for identifying infringement" and "improving the procedures for criminal liability." 

In a recent cast, a court in Texas, the US, ruled in favor of China's Tencent Video in a cross-border lawsuit in February. The US court ruled in favor of the Chinese company in its lawsuit against a TV box company and its affiliates, ordering that a total of 616 million yuan ($84.7 million) be paid in compensation. 

"Such cases reveal the effectiveness and the deterrent of the law against piracy and copyright infringement," Zhang noted, adding that legislation such as the one he is proposing not only increases the cost of illegal activities, but also compels the market to operate in a regulated manner. 

Zhang highlighted the importance of attaining a public consensus on copyright protection. He noted that strengthening "anti-piracy education" is an effective method to guiding the public. 

"This proposed education can be carried out through cultural events such as IP related talks at universities and news and media companies," Cui Xiao, a marketer in the cultural industry, told the Global Times. She added that positive promotions by celebrities can also guide the public, especially young people, to reject piracy. 

"When the whole society embraces the notion that 'using genuine products supports innovation,' piracy loses the fertile ground to thrive," said Zhang.