Crackdown on bogus reporters

The authorities are cracking down on bogus reporters to guarantee a fair, open and clean journalism environment for overseas reporters as the 2008 Olympics Games approaches, the country's top press official said.

Liu Binjie, minister of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), said fake reporters, especially those representing overseas-registered media, harm society and deserve severe punishment.

"Disguising reporters to threaten and intimidate others to collect money is cheating and very dangerous to society," Liu said in a group interview yesterday.