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Harry Potter fans post unofficial translations

HONG KONG: The final Harry Potter book is still being translated into Chinese, but eager mainland Chinese fans have posted their own translations online, a move that could lead to counterfeit books in a country where piracy is rampant.

China’s authorised publisher of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” on Wednesday denounced the freelance translators and urged them to delete the translations.

Users of the Potter fan Web site called the “International Wizards’ Alliance” in Chinese have posted translations of several chapters of the new Potter book. Some chapters were restricted to registered users, but a reporter could access at least two chapters without signing in.

But a notice on the Web site Wednesday said its “translation team” has been disbanded because of unspecified reasons. Contact information for the Web site’s operator wasn’t immediately available.

A marketing executive at Beijing-based The People’s Literature Publishing House, which holds the China rights to the Harry Potter series, said it has complained to authorities about the unofficial translations. “They should be deleted according to China’s laws,” Sun Shunlin said.

Sun said, however, the publisher had no legal grounds to sue the unofficial translators, because it doesn’t hold the electronic publication rights to the Potter books in China.

China’s General Administration of Press and Publication didn’t immediately respond to a fax seeking comment.

Sun said “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” is still being translated and is scheduled to be published in China on October 28. The English edition was released on July 21. — AP

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