Chinese law enforcement agencies have confiscated 49 million illegal books, periodicals and audio-visual products in the first four months this year during the latest crackdown on pornographic and illegal publications.

Nearly 90 percent of the confiscated publications were pirated products, the National Office for Cleaning Up Pornography and Fighting Illegal Publications announced on Tuesday.

Of the confiscated publications, there were 1.69 million pornographic publications, 1.06 million illegal newspapers and magazines, and 2.96 million smuggled discs.

The office said 13,000 shops and booths, 364 printing factories and 97 websites were closed for illegal operations. Another 17,000 shops, 1,825 printing factories and 2,123 websites were fined.

Law enforcement departments investigated 8,954 cases involving the production, sale and distribution of illegal publications, including 214 criminal cases. A total of 165 people were convicted.

Liu Binjie, head of the office, said law enforcement departments across China would continue the fight against illegal publications in the "summer campaign".

He urged law enforcement departments to tighten criminal punishment of IPR infringements by "making good use" of the new judicial interpretations issued by the supreme court.

China's top court has stepped up the fight against intellectual piracy by lowering the threshold to prosecute people manufacturing or selling counterfeit intellectual property products.

The new interpretation issued by the Supreme People's Court in April states that anyone who manufactures 500 or more counterfeit copies (discs) of computer software, music, movies, TV series and other audio-video products can be prosecuted and imprisoned for up to seven years.

Fines for convicted counterfeiters were also raised, to range from one to 15 times the illegal earnings, or from 50 to 200 percent of the business turnover.

Liu, also head of the General Administration of Press and Publications, said more efforts would be made to check street peddlers hawking pirated illegal and pornographic books, CDs and DVDs.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2007)