That round-eared mouse dancing with kids? Not a copy of Disney's Mickey Mouse, the Shijingshan Amusement Park insists. And that raven-haired woman with seven men in elf suits? Not Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
In a country awash in pirated music, movies and other goods, the state-owned Shijingshan park stands out.
"We do not have any agreements with Disney," its deputy general manager, Yin Zhiqiang, said on Wednesday. "The characters in our park just look a little bit similar to theirs. But the faces, clothes, sizes and appearances are different."
PHOTO: AP
Such rampant Chinese copying has strained ties with the US, whose trade deficit with China soared to US$232.5 billion last year. Both governments are preparing for what are expected to be contentious talks from May 23 to May 24 in Washington on Beijing's trade policies, its currency and other issues.
On Wednesday, a Chinese delegation signed deals at a ceremony in San Francisco to buy US$4.3 billion in US technology in an apparent effort to ease US anger. The contracts went mostly to software, semiconductor and telecoms companies including Microsoft Corp, Oracle Corp, Cisco Systems Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co.
China regularly makes such purchases of US jetliners, soybeans and other goods before high-level contacts.
But it was unclear what effect the latest buying spree might have on the souring US mood.
Facing rising criticism from Congress, the administration of US President George W. Bush has threatened trade penalties over product piracy. Washington last month filed a WTO complaint against Beijing.
Over the weeklong May Day holiday, the Shijingshan Amusement Park filled its grounds on Beijing's western suburbs with actors in costumes resembling Disney characters and other foreign characters.
A video shot by Japan's Fuji TV on Tuesday last week showed children cavorting with Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Japan's Hello Kitty and Doraemon.
A banner over the entrance said, "Disney is too far, so please come to Shijingshan."
On Wednesday, the banner was down and none of the cartoon characters were on display. An employee who would give only her surname, Li, said the performances usually take place during the summer and holidays.
Lawyers for the park and the Walt Disney Co were in negotiations, said Yin, the deputy general manager of the park, which is owned by the government of Beijing's Shijingshan District.
"The results will come out in a couple of days," he said.
A Disney spokeswoman, Alannah Goss, declined to comment on the Shijingshan park but sent a statement affirming Disney's determination to fight copying.
"Disney values and protects its intellectual property vigorously and takes reports of suspected infringement very seriously," the statement said.
Despite the striking similarities to foreign characters, Yin insisted that the Beijing park's characters were all locally designed.
"Take our Cinderella as an example. The face of Disney's Cinderella face is European, but ours is a Chinese. She looks like a young Chinese country girl," Yin explained.
At the center of the park is a building labeled "Cinderella's Castle" on park maps.
It bears a striking resemblance to the original at Disneyland in California.
In a mixup of cartoon images, the castle ticket booth is built to look like Snow White, while a nearby statue of a woman with seven dwarves is Sleeping Beauty.
On Wednesday, two workmen with sledgehammers could be seen tearing down the statue. The park refused to say why.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS