Glue boss slips away from UK
A Hunan businessman wanted by US authorities for alleged intellectual property rights infringements jumped bail in Britain and returned to the mainland on Sunday.
Yuan Hongwei, president of Magpow Adhesive Industries, was detained for three months by London police under an extradition request issued by a US court in a case involving Indiana-based glue maker Abro Industries.
In an open letter this week, Mr Yuan thanked the government and the public for their 'concern, aid and support', and lashed out at Abro and the US for 'setting up a trap, violating human rights' and 'imposing hegemony over a Chinese citizen'.
Mr Yuan was arrested on a flight to London's Heathrow airport on September 14 supposedly on his way to negotiate with Abro president Peter Baranay about intellectual property rights (IPR) disputes being heard in courts in Beijing and Guangdong.
He was detained until he was bailed in November for GBP100,000 (HK$1.53 million).
In the letter, Mr Yuan denied his return to China violated British law, and demanded repayment of the bail bond because the arrest warrant misspelled his family name.
Abro Industries sells glues, epoxy resins and automotive products in more than 180 countries, and has accused Magpow of counterfeiting its products, design and corporate identity, costing the US company about US$15 million annually since 2000.
In 2004, US customs seized and destroyed a shipment from Magpow that contained counterfeit products bearing Abro logos.
The US courts treat property rights violations on a par with smuggling and drug trafficking, and an international arrest warrant for Mr Yuan was issued in 2005. Mainland judges also sided with Abro by ruling against Magpow in several hearings between 2002 and 2006. Last year, Magpow took the cases to high courts in Beijing and Guangdong.
But Mr Yuan's arrest in Britain, a third country unrelated to the case, quickly spawned fury on the mainland and made him a hero.
In the eyes of many mainlanders, Mr Yuan, once suspected of trademark piracy, became a victim of a dishonest business, a reminder of American hegemony and a hero who defended intellectual property rights.
More than 10,000 netizens signed a petition for his release, and the media, including Central China Television, lauded his company's product developments.
'It's an extreme case, an eruption of a long-time friction over IPR between the two countries. But to most people, it is an insult to China's growing power,' said Feng Xiaohui, a Changsha lawyer.
