Music fans sing the blues after campus crackdown

College students nationwide expressed outrage yesterday at what they perceive are heavy-handed police tactics in dealing with computer file-swapping.

"It is horrific that the police can just casually come in to search the dorms. It reminds me of the White Terror," said Louisa Liu (劉慧平), a graduate student at National Taiwan University (NTU).

Liu's comments sum up the outrage felt by many students across the nation over last week's search by police of university dorm rooms, during which computers allegedly containing unlawfully downloaded music files were seized.

"The search has created tremendous apprehension at school, because it is so common for students to use the free services [on the Internet]," said Shen Che-chou (沈哲州), an electronic engineering graduate student at NTU. "Students feel like a bird frightened by the bow (驚弓之鳥) right now."

Acting on an anonymous tip, officials from the Tainan District Prosecutors' Office led police in a search of a dormitory at National Chengkung University on April 11. They confiscated 14 computers that allegedly contained illegally downloaded MP3 music files.

"There was no basis in law for the seizure of those computers since it remains an open question whether or not it is illegal to download MP3 music files," Shen said.

Echoing Shen's opinion, Liu told the Taipei Times that what worried the students was that their reputations would be ruined if they were prosecuted.

"If those students get sued, it will leave them with a bad record," she said, adding that police had chosen students simply because they were an easier target than businessmen selling pirated CDs.

"The most severe infringements of copyright are not caused by students downloading MP3 music files, because [the students] don't make a profit on them. It is the merchants selling pirated CDs at night markets and CD stores that should be punished first," she said.

Wu Chi-lin (吳積霖), the former chairman of NTU's students' union, said although students were aware of the possible legal penalties, they were forced to download music files because of the unreasonably high cost of CDs.

"Think about the difference in pricing between CDs and books. It costs around NT$350 to buy a CD, which probably takes a few weeks to produce. But many books, which might represent a lifetime's work, are cheaper than a CD," he said, calling on music companies to re-consider their pricing policies.

Following the Ministry of Education's earlier promise to defend students' rights, Vice Minister of Education Fan Sun-lu (范巽綠) yesterday said that during a meeting between officials of the ministry and representatives of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) Monday evening, the organization had softened its stance on the case.

"[IFPI officials] said there was room for discussion about the students' liability for downloading the programs due to a lack of clear legal regulations. But they said they hoped the government would seize the opportunity to demonstrate its determination to protect copyrights with more concrete measures," she said.