Schools snub bid to stop pirates
Secondary schools have given a government campaign aimed at teaching students not to buy pirated music, films, software and fake consumer goods the cold shoulder.
Just 14 out of 501 took part in the drive, run by the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department with the support of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union.
The campaign - Intellectual Property Tutor Programme in Schools - which cost $200,000, recruited recent graduates and unemployed teachers to teach Form One and Two students about intellectual property rights.
Legislator and PTU president Cheung Man-kwong said the union would continue to support the project. He said the poor response was due to a lack of respect for copyright.
'Not many people care if anyone uses pirated material,' he said. 'Some students were even being laughed at by their peers after buying CDs because they were 'stupid' not to download them from the Internet free of charge.'
