China launches crack down on pirated videos of New Year blockbusters

The Chinese government has ordered a crackdown on pirated videos of two Chinese New Year blockbusters "Let the Bullets Fly" and "If You Are the One II."

The two Chinese movies are both big hits of the New Year movie season. "Let the Bullets Fly" has raked in over 400 million yuan (59.7 million U.S. dollars) in box office since its debut on Dec. 16, while "If You are the One II" has made 200 million yuan within five days since its release.

The crackdown was ordered by the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications and the General Administration of Press and Publication "in order to protect and boost the development of China's film industry," a statement from the office said Friday.

The statement said the crackdown is part of a half-year national campaign against infringement of intellectual property rights (IPR), which is underway.

The two departments asked local market watchdogs to enhance market inspections to weed out illegal workshops producing pirated video products.