Chinese bloggers were both enraged and amused by a foreign newspaper claim that the Chinese government paid them to attack President Sarkozy after his recent meeting with the Dalai Lama.

Swiss newspaper 20 Minutes claimed the Chinese government paid 5 fen for each critical post about Sarkozy. Bloggers were left speechless by the report, not least because of the tiny sum involved; 5 fen is one twentieth of one yuan or less than one US cent.

Zheng Ruolin, a correspondent in France for Hong Kong newspaper Wen Wei Po, said, "It demonstrates the foreign media have no idea whatsoever about public opinion in China."

The 20 Minutes article, citing a report in the French paper La Tribune, said the virulence of the attacks on Sarkozy was a sign they had been organized and paid for by the Chinese government.

But a media student at Renmin University said the newspaper's claims were ridiculous. "The criticisms of Sarkozy came from their heart – they weren't dictated by the government".

A blogger called "Fish swim" who is studying journalism told the International Herald Leader it was well known that foreign newspapers don't take any notice of studies or surveys. They just report opinion as fact. He said most bloggers would regard the 20 Minutes report as a joke.

Communications scholar Zhang Zhihua said the foreign media's lack of understanding reflects a profound cultural gap. They have different conceptions of democracy and public opinion. He added that while overseas media proclaim objectivity and fair play as values, in practice a newspaper is often the mouthpiece of a political party.

"We need to do more to get China's point of view across to the world, because western people are easily influenced by slanted media reports," Zheng Ruolin said.

(China.org.cn by Ma Yujia, December 17, 2008)