Strong Chinese demand for final Harry Potter book

Publishers have printed over 1.8 million copies of the Chinese-language version of the last book in the Harry Potter series and more could still come off the presses, AP reported. Although unauthorized translations of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows were available online ahead of the Chinese translation of the book's official release last month, the strong demand for legitimate copies was seen as a sign that anti-piracy measures are working. The mainland-based People's Literature Publishing House (PLPH) has issued 1.1 million copies of the book while Taiwan's Crown Culture Corp has shipped 700,000 copies domestically and in Hong Kong. Neither publisher gave sales figures. Sun Shunlin, a marketing executive with the PLPH, said copies issued in the mainland come with anti-piracy watermarks on the first page. "I can't say there aren't any pirated copies out there at all, but very few copies are found on the streets," he said.