A writer from China and all of his friends grew up watching movies and TV shows from other countries, with Chinese subtitles. Only when he moved to Hong Kong did he come to know that virtually all of it was pirated, and subtitled by anonymous volunteers.
He goes on to say that the rise of video produced in China might supplant programming produced in the West, and is wistful that tomorrow’s Chinese youth could be deprived of cultural touchstone.
Read the entire article at Nikkei Asia
Why it matters
Consumers in China have traditionally turned to pirate sites because most cities in China had limited cinema choices, and versions of Western programming released in China are regularly censored.
To reduce access to programming made available in China by illegal means, Chinese authorities have been cracking down. A February police action in Shanghai shut down a site with 8 million subscribers.
