Taiwanese publishers and consumers have increasingly fallen prey to unscrupulous e-commerce firms selling pirated publications, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said yesterday, adding that most of the orders were shipped from China.
Many who have bought best-sellers and popular titles online thought they were dealing with Taiwanese publishing companies, but instead received pirated copies with poor-quality print, paper and binding, DPP Legislator Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
DPP legislators Michelle Lin (林楚茵) and Lai Pin-yu (賴品妤), as well as representatives from Taiwan’s publishing industry organizations, also attended the news conference.
Photo: CNA
“We estimate that more than 100 publishing companies in Taiwan have been victims of piracy and suffered a lot of financial losses,” Association of Taipei Publishers chairman Chao Cheng-ming (趙政岷) said.
Publishers Association deputy chairman Steve Wu (吳政鴻) said the group had conducted an investigation and found that most of the pirated books were from foreign countries, mainly from China, and that most online order deliveries also originated from China.
The two groups called for a government crackdown to stop the proliferation of pirated books, uphold the Copyright Act (著作權法) and protect the rights of Taiwanese consumers.
“We ask that the government block these deliveries from overseas by establishing a specific window for monitoring and checking by airport and harbor authorities, while the Customs Administration should also set up a screening unit to stop these pirated books from entering Taiwan,” Wu added.
Data compiled from 2017 to June this year by Taiwan’s e-commerce associations showed auction firm Shopee topping the list for receiving the highest number of consumer complaints about receiving pirated books.
Saying it was a serious issue, Su said that government agencies, including the Consumer Protection Committee and the Intellectual Property Office, had been negligent.
“We demand these government agencies be more proactive and deal with the issue of book piracy with more resolve, instead of ignoring it and letting the problem get worse, which is hurting the local publishing industry,” Su said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS