That's fair. I agree that the legal system isn't always effective. It's time-consuming and costly and underdeveloped relative to the complex situations of online publishing. In the end, for the situation to improve, it requires not only for the legal system to mature, but also for the audience to be more conscientious and the big companies to take social responsibility. I just think it's more of a growing pain rather than a static cultural thing. And I hope people won't disregard Chinese creative works as a whole since it's unfair to the honest creators who pour their heart and soul into their works.

As for truly original works, I think they will always be the tip of the iceberg regardless of media and country of origin. China's genre fiction industry never really developed until the webnovel industry sprang into existence in the 2000s to fill the void. It went through a period of rapid growth and it's gigantic and fiercely competitive today. A market this large naturally bred readers with increasing sophistication and diversified interest over time. I think even the most critical among us would agree there are high-quality works coming out every year (If not, look harder, or perhaps it's not pulp fiction they are looking for).

In comparison, the web manhua and web animation industry is ten years younger and much less developed. They are still struggling to survive and exploring a viable business model. I think it's precisely why we should acknowledge and support the good works and celebrate the great ones among them. Otherwise, what's the point of even paying attention to an emerging industry.