China has seized over 200 illegal production lines of discs since 1996, according to the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

Since China seized the first illegal production line of discs in 1996, a total of 231 illegal production lines of discs which can produce 220 million discs annually have been seized, said Xu Hu, vice director of MPS's public order management bureau at a news conference Thursday.

"Illegal production lines are the source of pirated discs and to seize these lines can effectively wipe out pirated discs in China," Xu said.

Xu said "most of the illegal production lines are smuggled from overseas and some were using edge-cutting technologies."

"The lines are clustered in the developed coastal regions of China and most are hidden in dark rooms and even caves," he said.

"Many gang leaders hide in other countries and gang member are strictly controlled and shunned from contacts with the outside," he said, stressing "these have made it difficult for police to discover the lines."

(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2007)