Before I interviewed Zhang Ziyi, I knew I would be subject to a renrou sousuo, or human flesh search. What I didn't know was how unprofessional it would be.

Zhang, arguably China's biggest movie star, was this year accused of charity fraud by netizens who found inconsistencies in her records. For two months, she kept silent on the issue, and when she - or rather her team - decided to give me an exclusive interview, it was the Chinese equivalent of Tiger Woods granting the five-minute post-crash interview to ESPN.

The difference was, there was no time limit and my interview lasted four hours.

As I was the only reporter given access to the eye of the storm, it was natural for people to suspect collusion. To dispel any suspicions, I forfeited my right to comment on her story and the right to disclose any findings from my investigation into the case. My report, while newsworthy, was merely a record of Zhang's answers to my questions. I made sure there was not a single word that could be construed as passing judgment or siding with her.

When the story was published on March 16, I was accused of a whitewash. Her detractors claimed I was secretly employed as her spokesperson. To prove their point, they began their renrou search.

What shocked me was how sloppy they were.

For example, they didn't even bother to search the China Daily website for my earlier commentaries on Zhang, most of which defended her right to a private life.

They did uncover a 2007 entry in my personal blog, however. From that piece, which they did not understand because it is written in English, they jumped to the conclusion I was a personal friend of Zhang's back then. (Using that logic, Confucius should also be my buddy because I wrote about him, too.)

People started sending me vicious e-mails and jamming the China Daily phone lines, lodging complaints and demanding I be fired. Yet the callers would never leave their names. They always called themselves the "righteous and indignant masses".

They posted so many lies about me on the Internet that there is no way I can clear my name with everyone.

For a while I thought about resorting to legal means to defend my name but a veteran newsman talked me out of it. "Who are you going to sue?" he asked. I didn't have any names but they clearly could destroy my reputation and my career.

Though they do not have faces, I noticed several traits with these renrou searchers.

They come in with a predetermined judgment. From the beginning, they are sure who is evil - they are the good guys, so what they oppose is naturally the bad guys. Also, they only pick the evidence that supports their view. If they cannot find any evidence, they are more than happy to make some up.

The most common method they adopt, though, is quoting people out of context. Double-checking and verification? Due process be damned.