More than 100 years ago American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in a letter to Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle: "I am ashamed that you should educate our young men, and that we should pirate your books. One day we will have a better law, or perhaps you will make our law yours."

There is no need to question China's determination and motivation to protect intellectual property rights (IPRs), because for the nation, IPR protection is at its deep level the protection of its national spirit.

It is imperative for and conducive to the advance of the nation that we educate our offspring to create through their own efforts and to respect the creations of others.