Critical Reception
The heated online debate about whether shanzhai should be encouraged or denounced is arguably due to Ni Ping (倪萍), a well-known CCTV host's proposal during the Lianghui (two conferences) this year. She proposed to establish relevant legislation that will eliminate the shanzhai phenomenon by arguing that the copycat culture associated with shanzhai will stifle genuine creativity and hamper awareness of property rights. While some agree with her, others point out that in order to give objective comment on the shanzhai phenomenon, one has to distinguish shanzhai products from pirated products and shanzhai culture from shanzhai products. They also argue that although many shanzhai culture events manifest themselves as copycat events, some also have true original elements. Western media like the Wall Street Journal and the New Yorker have reported about the shanzhai phenomenon and presented it as a form of rebellion and resistance to the mainstream culture.
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