Plagiarization of film scripts reflects the falling moral and ethical standards in our society, which should be checked, says an article on gmw.cn. Excerpts:

Taiwan writer Qiong Yao issued a statement on Weibo recently saying she would sue scriptwriter Yu Zheng for plagiarizing her script for Meihualao in the new TV drama The Palace: The Lost Daughter. The announcement has sparked a heated public debate, especially among Internet users.

Although Qiong Yao has appealed to Hunan TV to stop telecasting The Palace: The Lost Daughter, the TV drama is still on air and enjoys top audience ratings.

Influenced by audience ratings, TV program makers and TV stations have formed informal partnerships. And since "audience rating is the king", Hunan TV hasn't pulled The Palace: The Lost Daughter off the air despite the charges of plagiarization.

China does not have sound laws and regulations on copyright. Plagiarization cases have become common over the past few years, and they are not restricted to the world of films and TV programs plagiarizing has become a big problem even in the world of academics. The fine for plagiarizing, however, is not severe enough to curb the ill practice. Besides, some people take advantage of the legal loopholes to avoid punishment for plagiarizing.

Scriptwriter Li Yaling, who has cooperated with Yu Zheng, has said that she has turned down Yu's suggestion of copying from other scripts for maximum impact. Li has even said that once Yu told her that as long as "the plagiarizing content" was less than 20 percent of the overall script, the person plagiarizing it would not be punished.

This should serve as a warning to legislators to devise laws and regulations to protect copyright and crack down on plagiarization.

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(China Daily 05/06/2014 page9)