Jackie Chan Joins Piracy Protest

Best known for his systematic batterings of bad guys' solar plexi in such classic films as Rush Hour, movie hard man Jackie Chan put his status to an altogether different use on March 17, when he lead a 1500-strong crowd in a peaceful protest across the central business district of Hong Kong. The protest concerned the escalated trade in pirated goods, for which 73 cinemas also in the district darkened their cinema screens while the march went on. Orgamisers claimed the protest was an attempt to raise public awareness of piracy's immense cost - estimated in the tens of millions of dollars annually - and to involve the police and their powers of enforcement. Actors, directors, Cantonese pop singers and officials from the film, music and broadcast industries converged at Government offices to present a petition to chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa. Upon receiving the petition, Tung announced, "I can promise you that I myself and the government will work with you together to reach this important goal" The whole demonstration follows cinemas' attendance and revenues plummet over the last few years - the finger of blame of which they point to, in part, to piracy. Admissions went into freefall from 1992 - where they started at $41.3 million - crashing down almost 50% to $22.2 million in 1996, and what's worse, they're continuing to slide.