A top kung fu master from Shaolin Temple has urged China's legislature to enact a law to better protect the world-renowned martial arts centre's trademark rights, state press reported. "China needs to make a law at an earlier date so that Shaolin kung fu and other intangible heritage are better protected within a legal framework," Xinhua news agency quoted master Shi Yongxin as saying. The 1,500-year-old temple, known as the cradle of China's martial arts, is under siege from competitors taking advantage of its name, said Shi, a deputy to the National People's Congress, China's rubber-stamp parliament. Shi cited a brochure that read: "Want to practice Shaolin kong fu? Come to Japan."
"We have to wake up to the fact that some other nations might have already begun to capitalize on our traditional know-how to sharpen their own competitive edge and make profits amid fierce international competition in a globalised society," he said.
Trade mark infringement problems? But you Chinese would never do that, right? Bwahahahah!| That's, ummmm...different. |
Shaolin Temple, in central Henan province, has also recently applied to the United Nations to protect the site as a world heritage area. Today Shaolin is inundated by tourists and the monastery's monks and practitioners have few places left for quiet contemplation or the rigorous practice of kung fu. |