Potter faces real-life enemy
2005-07-20 09:19
Hong Kong - Harry Potter will cast his spell across Asia at dawn on Saturday as bookshops open early for fans eager to snap up the latest adventures of the boy wizard, who has found a new foe in the East - pirates.
Launch parties are planned and long queues expected at stores from India to Taiwan for the simultaneous worldwide release of author JK Rowling's sixth novel, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, at 23:01 GMT on Friday.
The plot has been kept a closely guarded secret, nowhere more so than in China where Potter's fictional battle against wrongdoers moves into the real world as publishers brace for a race against copyright pirates to get the first Chinese translations on the streets.
The official Chinese version of the penultimate instalment in the Potter series will not be released until the week-long National Day holiday, which begins on October 1.
But the People's Literature Publishing Company, which is responsible for translating the latest book, said Potter's special powers would be needed to fight rampant piracy in the nation.
"We have to prepare to quickly issue the Chinese version to deal with the pirates, which issued fake books last time," publishing company editor Wang Ruiqin said.
Pirates have issued counterfeit Chinese-language copies of previous Potter books, some bearing little resemblance to the originals, in a country notorious of its disrespect for intellectual property rights.
The company refused to reveal how many books it had ordered, but China sold more than 50 000 copies of the English edition of the fifth Harry Potter book released in 2003 and more people are now reading English.
Rowling will launch her latest novel at a special ceremony at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland, after riding into Edinburgh in a horse drawn carriage along with 70 children from around the world including youngsters from India, New Zealand and South Africa who won competitions to get there.
Millions of copies have been printed and the tome is set to become the world's biggest-selling novel. British firm Bloomsbury is publishing the book in countries including New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong several bookstores will open at 07:00 and are offering specially printed Harry Potter paper bags to reward the early risers.
Taiwan too has been struck by Pottermania. A restaurant in the capital Taipei managed by the five-star Sherwood Hotel has launched a one-month special menu presenting special Hogwarts' dishes served by staff dressed as characters from the book.
Diners can tuck into Muggle soup (pumpkin soup), Voldemort's diary (caramel peach mousse) and the Philosopher's Stone (caramel cream puffs).
- AFP