♪ ♪ in beijing, the chinese capital, a department store stands in a street full of embassies, part of a tour route

for foreign tourists. the seven-story building houses more than 500 retailers, selling everything from brand-name electronics to clothing. many of the products, however, are counterfeit. [ speaking foreign language ] >> the price for the wallet was $80, 1/10 of what a genuine item

would cost. china is known all over the world for its counterfeit gsds. every year more than ten million tourists buy products from the department store, and souvenirs. counterfeit items and false labelling in china is, of course, against the law. most phony goods may look good on the outside, but they are usually flawed. foods are often unsafe for consumption. electrical items have false features or structural faults. imitations of almost every imaginable product can now be found in china. [ speaking foreign language ] >> china's reputation for

counterfeit products continues to grow, but some people are fighting for consumer rights and calling for change. inexpensive chinese products are popular worldwide. while there is no way to find out what percentage of goods are fake or how many factories are making them, the government released some relevant statistics in january 2015. in an online market worth around $450 billion, research revealed that more than 40% of goods are fake. when it came to major chinese online vendors, they found out that more than 60% of goods were phony. thousands of different products can be purchased online, but there's no way for consumers to

check whether they are authentic. it's also difficult for legitimate makers to track vendors, their products, and sales locations. shanghai number one national musical instruments factory, has earned a reputation for the highest quality musical instruments in china. the company, however, has long been a victim of bogus items flooding the market. ♪ >> it's artisans have been crafting instruments to exceptional standards for many years. some items have been approved of as works of art and are priced up to $64,000 u.s. to beat the fight against counterfeit items, the company

launched a new division four years ago. [ speaking foreign language ] >> most of the calls received here are from people who were duped into buying fake items. qiao has been leading the division since its founding. she said unscrupulous online vendors continue to use more and more subtle techniques. [ speaking foreign language ] >> the more than 1,000 reviews

posted on the online vendor's website mostly say positive things about their products. but qiao says the credibility of the writers cannot be confirmed. [ speaking foreign language ] >> li has been making harps here for 40 years. she came back from retirement at the company's request to train

successors. li can tell whether a harp with their name on it is authentic just by listening to the sound. she doesn't even need to see it. on this day, she is holding a study session on how to identify fakes. [ speaking foreign language ] ♪ ♪ >> even the cheapest harps sold

here take about three moss to make. the company painstakingly crafts each of its products with love and pride. counterfeits destroy the company's reputation and consumer confidence in a flash. last year, the company decided to launch an all-out attack and crack down on fake vendors. in this video taken during that time, farmers at a village in hunan province are caught making fake harps. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> most counterfeits are made in poor regions. if the production of imitations was completely stopped, many of the millions of chinese living in poverty would lose their livelihoo livelihoods. one online shopping website is actively being kraicracking dow selling of fake products. this is one of china's five biggest online shopping sites. their standards are very stringent. only legitimate companies can use the site. and individual sales aren't permitted. customer satisfaction has exceeded 90% since its launch. to ensure the authenticity and quality of eight million items, the quality control division does unannounced checks and

deals with violations swiftly. despite these measures, division chiefs say it's difficult to crack down on every imitation and low-quality item. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> one department store near tiananmen square was forced to shut down recently. it used to be one of the most successful stores in beijing. wong hai is the man who brought down the store, by filing a lawsuit against it 20 years ago. he's become known as the original counterfeit hunter. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> back then, citizens didn't know how to claim compensation for being sold fakes. but wong knew about the first consumer rights protection law, established in 1993. it allowed consumers to sue companies for the same price as what they paid for the fake goods. damages have since risen to three times the price of the product. wang actively looked for fakes and ended up filing several lawsuits. the chinese media covered his efforts, sparking discussions on the crackdown of counterfeits. soon, many others began

following wang's lead, and became so-called counterfeit hunters themselves. they now reportedly total around 100,000. [ speaking foreign language ] >> wang now works with around 30 counterfeit hunters with the cooperation of multiple lawyers. the team has so far dealt with more than 3,000 counterfeits. recently, a man called seeking

wang's help. he used to run a shop that sold residential equipment, and put a lot of effort into selling a $12,000 personal sauna. his family and friends all supported him by buying one, and he recommended the item to many people. but now, he wants to sue the personal sauna's manufacturer. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> before the man contacted wang, he'd already researched the product's structural deficiencies and the number of vendors nationwide that sold it. he knew he had to be thorough if he was attempting to sue a powerful company. wang said he would do everything he could to help him. this high end residential district is in central shanghai. one mother who lives here has been testing products herself in the hope of protecting children.

qiu lost trust in china-made goods after a notorious case in which baby milk was found to contain melamine six years ago. her first goal was to find reliable product information. but she soon realized that there are no private organizations to protect consumers. she and her husband decided to take action themselves. qiu launched a website in october 2013 to share the information she had obtained over the past three years. she uploads the results of the testing her team has conducted on various products. so far, they've tested 3,000 items in 49 categories. initially, they paid out of picture to buy and test products, but as their website

gained recognizes, she began testing specific items for citizens. in order to continue their activities, they had to become a company and start charging for membership. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> two years ago, qiu's company joined uk-based international consumer research and testing. the icrt conducts fair product testing without support from any government or company. it conducts more than 5,000 experiments a year, based on requests from consumer groups in 38 countries. on the website, any registered user can view general results of product testing without having to pay membership.

this woman became a paying member several months ago. yu was introduced to the service by her friend opinion after giving birth, she tried many baby products, but had trouble finding goods she could trust. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> in march 2015, mingjian organized a conference to announce the test results of some very popular products. journalists from various media outlets attended. qiu hopes that if consumers know what products are good quality, sub standard products will disappear from the market. she and her team want to use the media in order to share the data

they've collected more widely. meanwhile, counterfeit hunter wang hai is working on the faulty sauna case. his client has asked him to come to his hometown. wang will start by obtaining the sauna in question from a store. wang has to stay in the background as he's a well-known face. he sends the client to make the purchase. this is an excerpt from video footage they shot to use as evidence. there are various baths and jacuzzis on display. including the personal sauna.

[ speaking foreign language ] >> the man finally purchases two saunas. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> paperwork complete, the client eventually leaves the store four hours after entering. a week later, the saunas are delivered. they arrive at one of wang's offices.

wang paid for two saunas for a price of roughly $24,000 u.s. under the law, compensation of three times the amount is paid for fake or harmful goods. meaning wang could claim $72,000. [ speaking foreign language ] >> wang gathers everything he needs, evidence of exaggerated advertising, records of purchase, and other documents needed for filing a complaint. he'll submit everything to the administration of industry and

commerce. [ speaking foreign language ]

♪ ♪ >> the administration of industry and commerce began investigating theau case after receiving the complaint from wang. they say results will be reported in around a month. take and low quaty products flooding china have created a need for counterfeit hunters. it may take some time before china c ensure tt counterfeits are no longer sold.

♪ >> glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, july 16th, i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. people in japan are bracing for a typhoon on a collision course with the country. they're already feeling the effects of the storm's power and they're being warned to be prepared for torrential wane and structive winds. robert speta tells us where the typhoon is expected to make landfall. >> it's going to be coming on shore overnight thursday and