7 The Publishing Industry of Hong Kong and Macau

A. The Hong Kong Publishing Industry

B. The Macau Publishing Industry

A. The Hong Kong Publishing Industry

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), bordering the South China Sea and located at the eastern side of the Pearl River Delta, consists of Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula, and the New Territories (including more than 230 islands). On the north, it is separated from the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone of Guangdong Province by the Shenzhen River, and to the west it is about 60 kilometers away by sea from Macau. Hong Kong has a total area of 1,092 square kilometers and a population of 6.6 million, 97% Chinese and 3% British and other foreigners. Both Chinese and English are commonly used, and the major religions are Buddhism and Christianity. After being ruled by the British for more than 100 years, Hong Kong returned to Chinese control in 1997.

As one of the three major Chinese publishing bases in the world, Hong Kong is third behind the Chinese mainland and Taiwan in terms of total book output and market size. However, as in Taiwan, the publishing industry in Hong Kong is highly market-oriented and competitive.

There are about 500 book publishing houses, 800 magazines, and more than 50 newspapers in Hong Kong. According to data from the Hong Kong authorities, about 40,000 people worked in 4,296 publishing and printing companies at the end of 2003.

1. Book Publishing

Hong Kong has 500 book publishing houses with a total annual output averaging around 10,000 titles. In 2003, 13,075 new titles were registered and published.

The Hong Kong market favors books on management, personal finance, self-help, and practical applications. Comic books and popular novels are frequent bestsellers. In addition, books that have been adapted from films or TV shows and books related to current hot topics also have strong sales. Popular books in Hong Kong come from various regions and countries. Local books and books from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan are all well received and Chinese translations of foreign books also have the potential to become bestsellers.

Hong Kong book sales total about HK$5 billion (about US$641 million), of which HK$2.8 billion is from general books, HK$1.5 billion from textbooks, and HK$700 million from comic books. English books also enjoy strong sales.

Shen Peng Yin, an outstanding book dealer in Hong Kong and author of the book, World Publishing Industry: Hong Kongand Macau, divides the past 50 years of Hong Kong’s publishing industry into four stages: the cultural desert period (prior to the early 1950s), the preliminary and formative period (the 1950s), the development and maturation period (the 1960s to the early 1970s), and the prosperous and thriving period (the early 1970s to the present).

Hong Kong has witnessed impressive development in the publishing industry in the past 20–30 years. Of the hundreds of publishing companies, about 100 have considerable production capacity. Prominent companies are The Commercial Press (Hong Kong) Ltd., Chung Hwa Book Co., (Hong Kong) Ltd., Joint Publishing (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., Wan Li Book Co., Ltd., Cosmos Books Ltd., Ming Pao Publishing House, The Chinese University Press, Next Publications Ltd., Taosheng Publishing House, Sunbeam Publications (Hong Kong), Qin Jia Yuan Publishing Company, Sun Ya Publications (Hong Kong) Limited, and Juxian Guan Ltd.

There are also many publishing groups in Hong Kong, such as Sino United Publishing (Holdings) Ltd., SCMP Book Publishing Ltd., and Popular Holdings Ltd. Of these, Sino United is the largest in terms of both capacity and range.

Sino United Publishing (Holdings) Ltd. was formed in 1988 and is one of the most well known Chinese publishing corporations in the world with businesses in publishing, printing, and distribution. It owns 12 publishing houses such as the Joint Publishing (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., Chuang Hwa Book Co. (Hong Kong), The Commercial Press (Hong Kong) Ltd., and Sino United Electronic Publishing Ltd., and more than 20 other subsidiary companies in the printing industry and media such as the C & C Joint Printing Co., (Hong Kong) Ltd. In addition to companies in Hong Kong, Macau, and the Chinese mainland, Sino United has branches or joint ventures in Southeast Asia, Japan, the U.S., and Canada. (See Figure 7.2.) Currently it employs 3,000 people and publishes 1,500 titles annually with sales of HK$2.8 billion (US$359 million). Besides achievements in publishing, printing, and distribution, Sino United has extended into other investments and real estate.

Textbooks have a significant share of the market and in recent years competition in this sector has increasingly intensified. There are more than 20 publishers focusing on textbooks in Hong Kong such as Ling Kee Publishing Co., Ltd., Longman Hong Kong Education, Oxford University Press, Hong Kong Educational Publishing Ltd., Jing Kung Book Store-Educational Press, New Asia Publishing House Ltd., Zero to One Publishing Ltd., Aristo Educational Press Ltd., Learner Publishing House Ltd., and Keys Press Ltd. After Hong Kong’s return to direct Chinese role, Chinese textbooks have become the new focus.

Many international publishers have branches in Hong Kong such as the Oxford University Press, Longman Publishing Company, Reader’s Digest, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., Springer-Verlag Ltd., The Walt Disney Company, and Simon & Schuster Pte. Ltd., and a few have even established their regional headquarters in the territory. Popular Holdings Ltd., which started its business in Singapore and then expanded into Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, now has its headquarters as well as many subsidiary companies in Hong Kong.

These Hong Kong companies serve as regional centers of their parent publishing companies and engage in business over the entire Asian-Pacific region, with publications tailored to the demands of the whole region. Some have also become functional centers for businesses in the Chinese mainland. Meanwhile, many companies participate in the local publishing industry. Many companies focus on educational publications, especially English language, and a few have even begun to produce Chinese publications. Strong performers in this field are Oxford University Press and Longman Hong Kong Education.

Longman Hong Kong Education (LHKE), a subsidiary of Pearson Education Asia Limited, publishes books on a variety of subjects for pre-school education, primary schools, middle schools, colleges, and universities. Besides book publishing, Longman also has various study-related products. It has published Chinese magazines such as Chinese Bulletin Longman in order to explore potential markets. LHKE is one of the largest foreign publishing companies in Hong Kong with over 300 employees. It also sells textbooks for Longman’s other imprints such as Addison-Wesley, Prentice Hall, Penguin Readers, Ladybird, etc.

Oxford University Press has also achieved outstanding success in Hong Kong. The headquarters of Oxford University Press (China) Ltd. is located in Hong Kong, and it employs more than 200 people and publishes 500 new titles annually. Oxford focuses on textbooks in both Chinese and English and holds a significant share in the primary and middle school textbook market in English and Chinese, and the English study market. In addition, its publications on the natural and social sciences also have strong sales. In order to promote Chinese publications, it has established a Chinese publishing company, Keys Press, and has launched a Chinese website, www.keyschinese.com.hk.

Foreign companies in Hong Kong also serve as a stepping stone for their parent companies to enter the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. Longman, Oxford, Reader’s Digest, and Popular Holding have all done this. For instance, Reader’s Digest Asia Chinese Language Publishing Group manages its parent company’s business in Taiwan and copyright trade with the Chinese mainland.

In recent years Taiwanese publishers have begun to enter Hong Kong. At present, publishers with Hong Kong branches include Crown, Cite, and Yuan-Liou. These companies started with promoting Taiwan books, but have since begun to enter the local publishing market more fully.

2. Newspaper and Magazine Publishing

In terms of population, Hong Kong publishes a large number of newspapers and magazines. There are about 864 magazines registered in Hong Kong, of which 523 are in Chinese, 129 in English, 17 in other languages, and 106 in both Chinese and English. In 2003, the total number of the registered periodicals was 13,427 (including publications imported into Hong Kong).

There are 52 newspapers registered in Hong Kong, of which 26 are in Chinese, 13 in English, 6 in other languages, and 7 in both Chinese and English.

Advertising is a major source of revenue for magazines and newspapers and the Hong Kong media industry’s annual advertising expenditure totals HK$15 billion (US$1.92 billion), with the top five contributions being from TV, newspapers, magazines, broadcasting, and outdoor. The annual advertising sales of periodicals is about HK$1.8 billion (US$231 million) and accounts for 12% of media advertising income, and the annual advertising sales of newspapers is HK$4.4 billion (US$564 million), accounting for 29% of the total.

In addition to local newspapers and magazines, many prestigious international magazines and newspapers are also distributed in Hong Kong and some companies even issue localized editions of their publications. Statistics from the government states that about 106 international media companies have established offices in Hong Kong, and many internationally well-known newspapers and magazines choose Hong Kong as a distribution or printing center. For instance, Hong Kong is a regional distribution center for the Far Eastern Economic Review Reader’s Digest, and The Asian Wall Street Journal. The Financial Times, The Economist, USA Today and The International Herald Tribune are printed in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong magazines are primarily divided into categories such as news, business, electronic information, academic research, and entertainment. Leading news magazines include Asia Weekly, Ming Pao Weekly, Open Magazine, and the Mirror Monthly. Influential business magazines are Securities Journal, Capital, and Hang Seng Index. Major computer magazines include PC Home, Modern Electronics, and Electronic Technology; and prominent academic magazines are Ming Pao Monthly, Twenty-First Century, China Book Review, and Reader’s Choice. The serious magazine with the largest circulation is Asia Weekly.

A large number of Hong Kong magazines covering news, business and entertainment are weekly and biweekly magazines and entertainment magazines have the largest output. Well-known entertainment magazines are numerous and include TVB Weekly, Ming Pao Monthly, East Week, East Touch, Next Magazine, Easy Finder, Sudden Weekly, Yes Weekly, Popular Lifestyle & Entertainment Magazine, Express Weekly, Monday, and Sisters. These tabloid magazines attract readers by offering sensational news, love affairs, murder cases, and superstitious stories.

Backed by a world-renowned printing industry, Hong Kong printing magazines have superior print quality and are printed in large numbers. There are the International Packaging News for China, Digital Printing Technology, Graphic Arts, Full Graphic, Graphic Arts Association Bulletin and Hong Kong Printing Resources Bulletin and so on, and their presence reveals the strong capacity of the Hong Kong printing industry.

Many brand name international magazine publishers have entered the market, including Hachette Filipacchi which started publishing the Chinese edition of Elle 15 years ago, the first among the three Chinese editions. Today, many well-known international magazines continue to publish Chinese editions in Hong Kong, such as the recently launched French beauty magazine Les Nouvelles Esthetiques, American Forbes as well as many lifestyle magazines from Japan. The first even has two versions, one in simplified Chinese and another in the traditional form, distributing in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

The small population of Hong Kong has prevented its magazines from enjoying large distribution numbers. Most non-general interest magazines in Hong Kong circulate between 2,000 and 3,000 copies, with several of them surpassing 10,000, while a few tabloid magazines sell over 100,000 copies. Tough competition adds to the difficulties, and it is hard for magazines to sustain their existence. However, competition also leads to improvement of editorial quality and many Hong Kong magazines enjoy strong sales overseas.

Newspaper publishing is similar to the magazine sector. Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong can generally be divided into three categories: comprehensive coverage (with the largest number), business, and entertainment. Of the more than 20 newspapers, 70% focus on providing a variety of local and world news. Five newspapers specialize in reporting financial and economic news, and the rest cover mainly entertainment news.

Prominent comprehensive newspapers are the Ming Pao Daily, Sing Tao Daily, Ta Kung Pao Daily, and Wenhui Daily. Major financial and economic newspapers include the Hong Kong Economic Journal, Hong Kong Economic Times, and Hong Kong Commercial Daily. Among them, the Ming Pao Daily, Economic Journal, and Economic Times are the most influential, with regular distribution of between 50,000 and 100,000 copies.

The main entertainment newspapers are the Oriental Daily, The Sun Daily, Apple Daily, and Sing Pao. Such newspapers enjoy the strongest sales in Hong Kong. As with similar magazines, these newspapers focus on revealing the secrets and love affairs of celebrities, providing general entertainment news, erotic stories, and coverage of murder cases. Newspapers such as the Oriental Daily and Apple Daily have achieved a distribution of about 400,000 copies.

Prominent English newspapers are the South China Morning Post and The Standard. The former mainly covers comprehensive news and the latter focuses on financial and economic news. The South China Morning Post sells the most among the non-Chinese newspapers, with a circulation of around 100,000.

In recent years, Hong Kong newspapers have shifted focus towards entertainment coverage.

3. Electronic Publishing and the Internet

Hong Kong is always keen to take advantage of scientific and technological developments and follow the latest international trends. Electronic and Internet publishing have made impressive progress as the publishing industry began to enter the electronic age in the 1990s. More electronic publishing companies are emerging, along with an increasing number of electronic books. As for Internet publishing, several websites have started to provide book downloading services, such as www.cp1897.com.hk, www.ebooks.com, and www.chinesebooks.com.

Many Hong Kong readers choose electronic publications and according to a survey more than half of middle school students in Hong Kong own an electronic dictionary, increasing to 60% among junior high students. The extensive market demand maintains electronic publishers’ enthusiasm.

Hong Kong is where Chinese Internet books first started. During the mid-90s, Internet publishing and online bookstores were launched. Major cyber-bookstores are www.cp1897.com, www.commercialpress.com.hk, www.jointpublishing.com, www.silkbook.com, www.oupchina.com.hk, www.longman.com.hk, www.wanlibk.com, www.chunghwabook.com.hk, www.eurekabookshop.com, www.bookworld.com.hk, and www.hkchinesebooks.com. These websites are managed both by publishers and non-publishers.

The bookstore www.cp1897.com was formed by The Commercial Press and a subsidiary of Sun Hung Kai & Co., Ltd. and is the largest Internet bookstore in Hong Kong with the greatest number of books and fast delivery services. Many Hong Kong publishers have established websites to promote publications. For example, Longman set up a Chinese website to promote its textbooks and it also runs a website for its SOS project, www.gssos.ilongman.com, which invites education experts to answer questions and provides teaching or learning material.

In order to provide better service and promote adoption of information technology in the region, the Hong Kong government and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. worked together to launch a municipal online bookstore, www.esdlife.com, allowing residents to buy merchandise including government publications through the internet. In addition, the Hong Kong Education and Manpower Bureau has posted various textbook lists online to help schools choose textbooks. The biggest source of publishing information is www.publishing.com.hk of Joint Publishing (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd.

4. Distribution, Printing, and Professional Associations

Before the 1980’s, specialized book distributors dominated book distribution, but with the development of the publishing industry, many publishing companies opened their own bookstores and established their own distributional networks. Accordingly, the number of specialized distributors in Hong Kong has dropped.

Major distributors in Hong Kong are Li Tung Books Ltd., Arts & Literature Books Co., Ltd, You Cheng Books, Lee Yuen Subscription Agencies Limited, and Challenge Books. These companies not only distribute locally produced books but also engage in exporting Hong Kong books overseas and importing books from Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. Joint Publishing (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. is a major distributor of books from the Chinese mainland. Sin Min Chu Publishing Ltd., a subsidiary of Sino United, serves as a major supplier of Hong Kong and Taiwan books to the Chinese mainland market as well as an agent for inviting exhibitors to the Beijing International Book Fair.

At present, Hong Kong has nearly 1,000 bookstores, of which about 50 of the largest sell mainly Chinese books. The two largest ones are managed by The Commercial Press and Cosmos Books. The Seng Kwong (Star Light) Book Center, the 10th outlet of The Commercial Press, has about 2,000 square meters of space in an elegantly designed hall and is located at central Tsimshatsui. From its window, you can see Victoria Harbor and Hong Kong Island.

Currently, the Chinese and foreign language book trade in Hong Kong generates about HK$4–5 billion (about US$512–641 million) in revenue, of which HK$1.5 billion comes from textbooks, study, and teaching materials; while the other sectors sell about HK$2.5–3.5 billion (about US$321–449 million).

Annually, about 20,000 new titles enter the Chinese book market each year, with most from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. Of the total new titles, 50% are from the Chinese mainland, 30–40% from Taiwan, and less than 20% from Hong Kong. In terms of sales, however, Hong Kong books garner 50% of total sales, while Taiwanese books take 40% and Chinese mainland books account for only 10% (Shen 1998). In recent years, sales of books from the Chinese mainland have begun to rise rapidly, and bookstores with a second floor specializing in selling these books have started to appear.

The most important book fair in Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Book Fair, held annually in July and organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The fair focuses on book sales, supplemented by copyright trade. Most books sold are Chinese books and exhibitors are mainly local publishers and international companies with offices in Hong Kong. Publishers from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan also participate in the event, as well as some Chinese book publishers from Singapore and Malaysia and a few other foreign publishers. In 2003, 325 publishing companies were represented at the fair, of which 82% were from Hong Kong, 13% from the Chinese mainland, and 4% from Taiwan. About 6,000 new titles were displayed during the fair, accounting for 60% of the total

annual new title output in Hong Kong. More than 420,000 people attended the fair.

Hong Kong is a world-famous printing base and the print center of Asia. Printing and publishing employ the largest number of people among all manufacturing industries in Hong Kong. In 2002, exports of printing and publishing products reached HK$3.95 billion (about US$506 million), accounting for 3% of manufacturing exports.

The printing industry consists of about 4,700 printing companies. Advanced printing equipment ensures superior quality and C & C Joint Printing Co., (Hong Kong) Ltd. has received the Asian Printing Industry High Awards and the American Benny Awards several times.

Hong Kong has many professional publishing organizations including the Hong Kong Publishing Federation, The Anglo-Chinese Textbook Publishers Organization, Hong Kong Publishing Professionals Society, Hong Kong Book & Stationery Industry Association, Hong Kong Publishers & Distributors Association, The Hong Kong Printers Association, and Hong Kong Record Merchants Association, with the Hong Kong Publishing Federation being the largest. (See Figure 7.4.) For periodical publishers, there is the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Journalists Association. The journalists association has a membership of 600 and is the largest reporter organization and the most active of all trade unions.

The most prominent awards in the publishing industry are the Hong Kong Print Awards organized by the Graphic Arts Association of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Publishing Professionals Society, and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The awards aim to reward outstanding achievements in publishing, distribution, design, and printing. Fifteen people have received awards, including Chan Man Hung, Henry Steiner, Lan Chuan, Lee Cho Jat, and Louis L. Y. Cha (Jin Yong). The Hong Kong government also awards honorary medals to outstanding professionals in the publishing industry, such as Lee Cho Jat and Shen Peng Ying. Other prominent publishers in Hong Kong include the Chairman of Sino United’s Zhao Bin,

Chairman of Cosmos Books’ Chan Chung Ling, Director of Press of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Steven K. Luk, and Chief Editor of Oxford University Press (China) Ltd.’s Simon Li, General Manager of Ming Pao Monthly and Ming Pao Publications Ltd.’s Poon Yiu Ming, and Editor-in-Chief of Yazhou Zhoukan Ltd.’s Yau Lop Poon.

B. The Macau Publishing Industry

Macau is a frontier city bordering the South China Sea and is the smallest SAR of China with an area of just 27 square kilometers and a population of 444,000, of which 96% speak Chinese and the rest mainly Portuguese and English. Portuguese settlers arrived in Macau in the 16th century and later turned the port into a Portuguese colony. In December 1999, Macau returned to Chinese control. Macau’s revenue comes mainly from gambling and tourism and each year it receives about 10 million visitors, of whom 700,000 are Western tourists. Though small, Macau is a well-known international city.

The Chinese publishing industry in Macau operates on a small scale and plays no important role in the Macau economy. Except for a few companies such as the Macau Daily News, most of the rest can hardly break even, and newspaper publishing in general is in a better position than magazine and book publishing. The publishing industry as a whole consists mainly of three types of publishers; the government which carries the most weight along, business groups, and a few individuals. Macau’s unique cultural heritage places the city in an important position in terms of Portuguese culture and in interacting with other Portuguese-speaking countries.

There are eight Chinese daily newspapers in Macau including the Macau Daily News, Journal Va Kio, and Tai Chung. The Macau Daily News is the most prominent and influential with a distribution of 100,000 copies, accounting for 90% of Macau’s total newspaper distribution. Besides newspapers, the publisher of Macau Daily News also engages in book publishing and distribution. In addition to Chinese newspapers, there are four Portuguese newspapers in Macau, of which three are daily newspapers and one weekly.

Macau publishes about 100 magazines in total, of which 60 are registered in the government’s Information Bureau as regular periodicals. Most of the magazines are weekly, quarterly, and bimonthly and the most prominent are Macau Magazine, Macau Monthly, China Macau, Mastv Magazine, Macau Image, RC: Review of Culture, Macau Law Journal, and Meng Ya (Sprouts).

Macau magazines can be divided by subject categories into current affairs, finance and economics, social sciences, medicine, sports, leisure, culture, social organizations, and government information and guidance. Major current affairs magazines are the Macau Monthly, China Macau, and Mastv Magazine. Macau Magazine is a bimonthly sponsored by the Information Bureau with the largest circulation, and Mastv Magazine, sponsored by Macau Asian TV, has established liaison offices in Hong Kong, Taipei, Malaysia, and some other Southeast Asian cities.

The Macau Image, Macau Manager, and Macau Economy are finance and economics magazines. Leading magazines in the social sciences include RC: Review of Culture, Macau Studies and Study of Sino-Western Culture. The RC: Review of Culture, sponsored by the Cultural Institute of the Macau government, is the most authoritative social sciences magazine in Macau and is published in Chinese, Portuguese, and English. There are few cultural magazines and the only prominent one is the Poesia Sino-Ocidental, which is sponsored jointly by the Sino-Western Culture Study Institute of the Macau Polytechnic Institute and the Guangdong Writers Association.

Annually, about 100 Chinese titles are issued in Macau with financial support from the government. The Macau Foundation, established by the Macau SAR government, serves as a major book publisher and sponsor. Each year it receives 1.6% of Macau’s tax revenue, (about Ptc400 million) and sponsors book series in Chinese, Portuguese, and English. Its prominent publications include Macau Series, Macau Translations Series, Macau Law Series, Series on Comparative Studies of Laws in Four Regions, Macau Views, Macau Discussions, and New MacauDiscussions, covering a variety of subjects including politics, law, finance and economics, history, and culture. Dr. Wu Zhiliang of the Macau Foundation is a major supporter.

The Macau Daily News publishes a large number of books. Other major publishing establishments are Macau Publishing House, Plaza Cultural Macau Ltd., University of Macau Publications Center, and the First Bookstore.

In terms of content, most books published in Macau focus on Macau and Portugal. Yet, in recent years, books with a focus on the Chinese mainland began to appear, such as the book by Wu Shaohong, The Consumption Mode of Chinese Youth— Shopping Style and Moral Values.

Publication and distribution volume of Chinese titles is not high in Macau. A majority of the titles issue between 1,000–2,000 copies for the first edition, and a title is considered popular if it achieves sales of more than 2,000 copies. In recent years, popular books in Macau have been The Golden House and the Harry Potter books. The Golden House traces the redemption of four young prodigals. It was published in May 2003 and sold 2,000 copies within a week, with total sales of 3,000.

Textbooks used in Macau are mainly provided by Hong Kong publishers such as Hong Kong Longman and the Hong Kong Educational Publishing Co. Only a few Macau publishers engage in textbook editing and publishing, for example the Plaza Cultural Macau edited and published Moral Education for Citizens.

In 2002, Macau’s total publication output reached 350 titles. Macau holds many book exhibitions annually and engages in various book promotion activities. There are six to seven small to medium-sized bookstores in the city, including Plaza Culture Square, Seng Kwong Bookstore, Portuguese Bookshop, the First Bookstore, and Wan Tat Bookstore. Established in 1988 by the Macau Daily News and Hong Kong’s Sino United, Plaza Culture Square is the largest bookstore with an area of 1,000 square meters. It employs about 50 people and owns four outlets with annual sales of Ptc50 million and a profit of Ptc3 million.

Most of the books sold in Macau are from Taiwan and Hong Kong, with a small number from local publishers and the Chinese mainland. Many factors have led to such a situation. First, Taiwanese and Hong Kong books are published in traditional Chinese characters and are more similar in culture to Macau. Second, Taiwanese and Hong Kong books bring attractive profits. The sale price of Taiwanese and Hong Kong books in Macau is always listed at about one-third of the original price, but the price of books from the Chinese mainland is always similar to that listed there. For instance, Hillary’s Memoirs, a 558-page book published by Taiwan China Times, is priced at NT$400, and is sold in Macau for Ptc133. While the same book, published by the Chinese mainland’s Yilin Publishing House, is priced at RMB29 in the Chinese mainland and sells also for Ptc29 in Macau. Books from Taiwan and Hong Kong can generate two to three times more sales revenue than those from the Chinese mainland.

The governing copyright law currently applied in Macau was enacted in 1990.

Despite the fact that Macau’s Chinese publishing industry has only a limited size within the global Chinese publishing industry, it has made rapid development in recent years. Within the four years after 1999, more than 1,000 titles were published, and professionals in the Chinese publishing industry call the period a “little bright spring.”