Olympic Spirit with Chinese Characteristics: Try & Try Again ! -- China
tries again to rein in Beijing market's fakes

China tries again to rein in Beijing market's fakes

Reuters
Sunday, July 22, 2007; 12:50 AM

BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing's Silk Alley Market, famous for knock-off
designer gear from North Face jackets to Louis Vuitton bags, has been
raided again after state media had heralded a clean-out of fake goods.

"Authorities confiscated 553 fake Nike shoes, 408 counterfeit Adidas
shoes and 160 fake sports suits of the two famous brands after
inspecting 11 booths," Xinhua news agency said of Saturday's raid.

More than 150 stalls selling fake brand-name goods were cleared out
earlier in the month, but days later there was no evidence of lack of
enthusiasm of stall holders selling pirated goods.

"If you want to buy the real stuff, go to a proper store," a stallholder
selling fake Harley Davidson leather jackets said at the time.

"An official ... said they had dealt with dozens of cases of fake
products in the shopping mall so far this year," Xinhua said. "But the
selling of fake goods still exists."

The market, a magnet for both local expatriates and foreign tourists,
said as early as January 2005 that it would stop the sale of counterfeit
ware.

That announcement came a day ahead of a visit by then U.S. Commerce
Secretary Don Evans for an intellectual property rights forum and amid
Chinese pledges to get tough on copyright violations.

The European Union and United States have maintained pressure on China
to combat counterfeits, which U.S. software and entertainment firms say
costs them $2.5 billion a year.

EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva is in China this week
for meetings amid a series of health scares over Chinese exports from
everything from seafood to toothpaste.
(c) 2007 Reuters