The Telegraph reports that government censors have banned an amateur Chinese translation of
Deathly Hallows thought to be compiled by teenagers before the publishing of the official Mandarin edition.
Within a few days of the English release five chapters appeared on the fansite International Wizards' Alliance. Subsequent to complaints by The People's Literature Publishing House a notice was posted saying that the group had been disbanded.
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"The translation team is hereby dismissed with immediate effect," it said. "All translation activities have been stopped due to various reasons." The "various reasons" formula almost invariably refers to just one: a call from the authorities.
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Sun Shunlin, the marketing manager of People's Literature, said the amateurs were damaging business. "They directly infringed the rights of the writer, Ms Rowling," he said, but added that it was the job of the General Administration of Printing and Publishing, the central censorship body, to intervene.
According to "Wizard Harry", the 15-year-old behind the translation effort, no harm was intended. "The translation of Harry Potter 7 had no profit motive," he said. "Its only purpose was to share our enthusiasm."
Pirate versions of the book are also rife, as we
reported yesterday.
Government bans amateur Chinese Deathly Hallows translation 
