China ethics plea after fake buns
By James Reynolds
BBC News, Beijing
Workers said they added cardboard to buns at the reporter's suggestion
China's propaganda department has called on journalists to strictly adhere to news ethics.
The instructions came in the wake of a case in which a reporter was caught faking a story about buns made from cardboard.
The Chinese Communist Party heavily controls its media, deciding what people can and cannot publish and broadcast.
But it seems that it cannot always stop reporters simply making up stories.
In recent weeks China has been following a series of reports about low food and drug safety standards.
The most captivating story of all came a few days ago.
Zi Beijia, a reporter for Beijing TV, ran a report about a food store that mixed cardboard into its pork buns as a cheap ingredient.
His report showed workers mushing the cardboard into a sludgy mix and then adding it to dough and pork.
Police then raided the store. Workers admitted that they had added the cardboard - but at the suggestion of the reporter, who had apparently grown frustrated that he had found nothing wrong with the store after spending 10 days spying on it.
The reporter is quoted as saying that his aim was to become famous. He succeeded - but he also got arrested.
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