VZCZCXRO5362
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHHK #0815 1240948
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 040948Z MAY 09
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7538
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS HONG KONG 000815 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM AND EEB/OMA 
DOC PASS AWILSON 
DHS PASS MMDUDEK 
DOJ PASS JZACHARIA 
USPTO PASS JURBAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR HK CH
SUBJECT: SPECIAL 301 PREVIEW DELIVERED TO HONG KONG AND 
MACAU 
 
REF: A. STATE 41999 
     ¶B. HONG KONG 372 
     ¶C. HONG KONG 382 
 
¶1. (U) Post provided a preview of the 2009 Special 301 report 
to governments of Macau and Hong Kong on April 30 (ref A). 
 
Macau 
----- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Macau Customs Service Director General Choi Lai Hang 
appreciated our advance notice that Macau was excluded from 
this year's Special 301 report.  He pledged to continue his 
department's efforts to eradicate counterfeit goods in Macau. 
 EconOff expressed the USG's appreciation of Macau Customs' 
effectiveness in combating physical piracy, but restated our 
concern about the continued rampant piracy of satellite 
television signals by unlicensed firms (known locally as 
"antenna companies") that provide cable TV service to the 
majority of Macau's residential customers (ref B).  Choi said 
signal piracy by the antenna companies is not a criminal 
offense in Macau.  He speculated this was the reason why the 
prosecutor's office in Macau has not pursued the several 
signal piracy cases presented by Macau Customs.  He 
encouraged us to continue our discussions about this issue 
with the Macau Special Administrative Region Government 
(MSARG) Bureau of Telecommunications Regulation (known 
locally by its Portuguese acronym "DSRT").  DSRT was unable 
to meet with us to discuss the Special 301 report, but we 
will continue our dialogue with DSRT to prod them toward 
action against the antenna companies. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In a separate meeting on April 30 with Macau Cable 
CEO Angela Leung, she said several Macau government 
departments, public universities, hospitals and schools 
continue to use antenna companies.  She said her company (the 
only licensed cable TV provider in Macau) recently sent 
letters to the MSARG requesting that all government-operated 
facilities immediately cease their antenna company service. 
When we discussed this issue with Choi, he encouraged us to 
address the issue with the DSRT. 
 
Hong Kong 
--------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) In an April 30 discussion with HKG Intellectual 
Property Department (IPD) Acting Director Peter Cheung, Post 
expressed appreciation for IPD's exemplary efforts to protect 
intellectual property rights (IPR).  Cheung thanked the 
Consulate General fr our support of IPD's programs, and said 
multilaeral cooperation remains a key element of his 
goernment's IPR protection efforts (ref C).  He saidBeijing 
and Guangdong officials increasingly liase with IPD to learn 
from its IPR-related activiies, including legislative 
amendments, anti-piracy education for young people and small 
businesses, retail store certification programs, formal 
cooperation mechanisms with Hong Kong Customs, and IPD's 
relationship-building with private sector intellectual 
property owners. 
DONOVAN