China's media watchdog said on Sunday it has suspended
advertising services for four newspapers which it found posting
"illegal" drug-related advertisements.
In an inspection of advertisements, the General Administration
of Press and Publication (GAPP) and the State Administration for
Industry and Commerce found the four offending newspapers had "a
high frequency of posting illegal advertisements", a GAPP official
said.
The agencies accused the publications of "posting drug
advertisements without authorization", "bluffing drug effects" and
advertising for drugs and medical equipment and services through
news reports.
Two newspapers based in Jilin and Hebei province were banned
from posting drug-related advertisements for 30 days. The other
two, based in Hainan and Shandong, received the same penalty for
seven days, the official said.
GAPP also ordered the papers to overhaul their advertising
service management.
(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2007)