def replace_chars(text):
         if text is None:
             return None
-        return text.replace("&", "&")\
-                   .replace("---", "—")\
-                   .replace("--", "–")\
-                   .replace(",,", "„")\
-                   .replace('"', "”")\
-                   .replace("'", "’")
+        return text.replace("---", u"\u2014")\
+                   .replace("--", u"\u2013")\
+                   .replace(",,", u"\u201E")\
+                   .replace('"', u"\u201D")\
+                   .replace("'", u"\u2019")
     if node.tag == 'extra':
         node.clear()
     else: