by Neil Western, July 15, 2005
HONG KONG (AFP) - Harry Potter will cast his spell , across Asia at dawn 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 Taiwan to Thailand for the simultaneous worldwide release of author J.K.Rowling's sixth novel, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", at 2301 GMT 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 Australia 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.
Pottermania has already struck in India where pre-sale figures have crossed 135,000, senior vice president of sales at Penguin Books, P.M. Sukumar, was quoted by the Times of India, as saying.
"We have posted guards at locations where copies will be stored before July 16. Besides, the containers of the books are stored at the warehouses of the publishers and distributors," he said.
Rajni Bahri, owner of New Delhi's famous Bahri Sons book shop, said the store would open an hour earlier than usual to start selling the book.
"We are hoping to put up a special counter for the book. We have taken advance orders. There is heavy demand for the book. People are calling in, walking in," said Bahri.
In piracy-hit Thailand, where book chain B2S is organising a look-alike Hogwarts train to carry VIP guests to its flagship location at a Bangkok shopping centre, concerns over illegal copies were dismissed by sellers.
A spokeswoman for Chulalongkorn University bookstore said it would cost about 500 baht (12 dollars) to copy the Harry Potter release, only a little less than the 650 baht for the price of the real thing.
"We think real fans will want to have the real book, not a pirated version," she said.
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).