Their press release headline reads “Wolters Kluwer Expands Its Partnership with Chinese Publishing Industry”.
We’d probably re-title the press release ” Many Headaches Ahead For Kluwer In Dealing With Chinese Government Sanctioned
Content.”
Don’t say we didn’t warn you !
Below is the press release in full.
So it appears that Kluwer will be helping the chinese government get their propaganda (oops we meant to say content) out to a
wider world via the communist party’s officially sanctioned publisher China Publishing Corporation
We understand the subjects of say medicine and business et al where the publishing doesn’t have too much “political” content
But if Kluwer are also disseminate Chinese “law / legal” content around the world this does worry us somewhat if they don’t get
to add their own independently held editorial views. I suppose that’s something we’ll just have to wait and see …. time will tell.
We also see that Kluwer will be bringing in their content to be distributed in China
Will the following publications be freely available to the Chinese legal community and general public ….?
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND HUMAN RIGHTS, ENHANCED EDITION OF COPYRIGHT AND HUMAN RIGHTS
COPYRIGHT AND HUMAN RIGHTS
COLLECTED COURSES OF THE ACADEMY OF EUROPEAN LAW/1997 PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (VOLUME VIII, BOOK 2)
COLLECTED COURSES OF THE ACADEMY OF EUROPEAN LAW/1996 PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (VOLUME VII, BOOK 2)
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW AND PRACTICE, CASES, TREATIES
THE EUROPEAN SYSTEM FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
We understand that the above titles are only a small % of their list but we do hope that the Chinese won’t be the ones
cherrypicking what titles are to be available on the mainland.
We also notice that Kluwer are going down the road that West & LN are attempting in China. Moving away from selling content to
Chinese law firms . Rather they’ll be selling workflow solutions into the market.
There are two issues here.
Firstly will those workflow solutions carry Kluwer content and secondly how much access will the Chinese have to the
backend technology. We ask this as it’snot unknown for technology to be approriated and re-badged on the mainland
At least Kluwer have been bright enough to place a rather large disclaimer at the end of the release which illustrates that
they are aware of some of the obstacles ahead.
Delegation of Chinese publishing executives visits Wolters Kluwer headquarters in the Netherlands
Alphen aan den Rijn (April 20, 2012) – Wolters Kluwer, a market-leading global information services company focused on
professionals, today welcomed a Chinese delegation with representatives of some of the most prominent institutions in Chinese
publishing. CEO Nancy McKinstry met with Mr. Tan Yue, President of China Publishing Group Corporation (CPGC), Mr. Yu,
President of Commercial Press, and other executives to discuss their shared vision and perspective on the growth of the Chinese
market and customers’ needs.
Earlier this week, Wolters Kluwer signed a strategic alliance with CPGC at the London Book Fair. According to the agreement,
Wolters Kluwer will bring a wealth of professional content to China, providing the Chinese professional community with world
-class expert information and digital workflow solutions. CPGC can export and publish Chinese content through Wolters Kluwer’s established global network. The two parties will also expand cooperation in digital product sales.
CEO Nancy McKinstry addressed the delegation, “The growth and progress of the Chinese publishing industry is significant and
something to be proud of. We are very pleased with our strong relationships that we have built with you and your colleagues over
the past few years. The signing of the strategic alliance earlier this week with our team in the U.K. is an important step to
strengthen our relationships and show that we have a mutual interest.”
Last September at the Beijing International Book Fair Wolters Kluwer signed a similar agreement with CPGC’s subsidiary, the
Commercial Press, to present its publications to the international market through Wolters Kluwer. Meanwhile, the Commercial
Press has started to introduce a series of Wolters Kluwer publications in translation to Chinese readers.
Also at the 2011 Beijing Book Fair, Nancy McKinstry was appointed by the Chinese State Council Information Office to become
a member of the Foreign Consultant Committee. This influential Committee aims to promote the collaboration between local and
global publishers to link China with the rest of the world.
About China Publishing Group Corporation
China Publishing Group Corporation is a national publishing and distribution institution, consisting of 96 wholly-owned and
holding companies. It has more than 9,000 employees, total assets of 9.6 billion RMB, and annual sales revenue of 5.6 billion
RMB. It produces over 10,000 types of books, electronic and audio-visual publications, and more than 50 newspapers and
periodicals annually, holding a top position in the Chinese market. CPGC has 29 overseas branches with business in more than
130 counties.
About Wolters Kluwer
Wolters Kluwer is a market-leading global information services company. Professionals in the areas of legal, business, tax, accounting, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and healthcare rely on Wolters Kluwer’s leading information-enabled tools and software solutions to manage their business efficiently, deliver results to their clients, and succeed in an ever more dynamic world.
Wolters Kluwer had 2011 annual revenues of EUR3.4 billion, employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide, and maintains operations across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices.
Visit our website, YouTube, follow @Wolters_Kluwer on Twitter, or look up Wolters Kluwer on Facebook for more information about our customers, market positions, brands, and organization.
Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as “expect”, “should”, “could”, “shall”, and similar expressions. Wolters Kluwer cautions that such forward-looking statements are qualified by certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from what is contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, general economic conditions; conditions in the markets in which Wolters Kluwer is engaged; behavior of customers, suppliers, and competitors; technological developments; the implementation and execution of new ICT systems or outsourcing; and legal, tax, and regulatory rules affecting Wolters Kluwer’s businesses, as well as risks related to mergers, acquisitions, and divestments. In addition, financial risks such as currency movements, interest rate fluctuations, liquidity, and credit risks could influence future results. The foregoing list of factors should not be construed as exhaustive.
Wolters Kluwer disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
