BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- China seized more than 14 million illegal publications, doubling last year's number, in the country's latest efforts to protect intellectual copyrights, according to figures revealed on Monday.

While noting a series of major cases discovered in 2010, Zhou Huilin, a senior official with the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), cited a special case in which authorities have seized 27 suspects so far for pirating a book on the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The case resulted in the closing of eight printing factories and binderies in Sanhe City in northern Hebei Province for their involvement in the piracy. Five officials also received punishments for dereliction of duty, Zhou said.

After 16 years in the making, the second book in the series, on the 1949-1978 period of the CPC's history, came off the press on Jan. 11. This was 20 years after the first book, which documented the CPC's history from its birth in 1921 to the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

According to Zhou, tackling the case has helped create "a sound environment" for the release of the CPC book series. The first two volumes have a circulation of 1.38 million.

Zhou made the remarks Monday at the launch ceremony of the "Green Bookmark" campaign that aimed to persuade the public to buy authorized publications.

During the nationwide campaign, people can sign up to join and buy books at discounted prices at local stores designated with the green bookmarks. The campaign will also oversee the destruction of many illegal publications.

The National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications, GAPP, the National Copyright Administration and China Central Television jointly launched the annual campaign for "World Intellectual Property Day," which falls on April 26.

(Source:Xinhua)