China's General Administration of Press and Publication has issued a document detailing the punishment imposed on the six Chinese media service providers involved in providing false reports.
The six Chinese media agents are said to be Beijing Times, Xinkuaibao Newspaper, Oriental Morning Post, Private Economy Newspaper, Qingdao Morning Post, and West China City Daily. Of these, Beijing Times is accused of publishing a false report on China Merchants Bank on September 11, 2008, which reportedly was one of the triggers for the drop of the bank's stock price on the day. Xinkuaibao Newspaper is criticized for re-publishing an untrue report that said that Sun Yat-sen, the glorious leader of the democratic revolution in modern China, was a Korean. Private Economy Newspaper is blamed for publishing a false report on Harbin Pharmaceutical Group, which was said to have harmed the company's business. Both Qingdao Morning Post and West China City Daily are condemned for publishing a false report about Chinese navy ships' escort mission to Somalia which is said to have had a negative influence on China' national image and harmed the reputation of the Chinese army.
So far, GAPP has ordered the six parties to make a public apology, clarify their respective reports, and punish the people involved. In addition, it has asked the parties to strengthen their interview procedures and educate their staff to prevent any similar cases from happening in the future. Futhermore, it has also blacklisted the relevant staff of the said media companies and banned them from news work.
In addition, GAPP has issued a circular, asking its affiliates at all levels of the country to further improve their management and set up an effective management system on interviews, editing and publication.
