China's publishing authority has warned it will crack down on
illegal foreign publications "to prevent disruption to the
publishing market and a negative impact on the people".
A spokesman from the General Administration of Press and
Publication (GAPP) said that unlicensed journalists had been
publishing illegally after misleading low-ranking officials with
the serial number of a foreign publication registered overseas.
Under Chinese publishing regulations, foreign publications must
be licensed by the state council, or the central government.
Foreign publishers, news agencies or editing offices that engage in
unlicensed publishing, printing and distribution are considered
illegal.
Among the illegal foreign publications shut down this year are
the Baoding-based China Art Circle newspaper in the northern Hebei
Province and China News, whose reporters engaged in “illegal
activities" in Jianhu County, east China's Jiangsu Province.?
Heilongjiang publication department on March 16 closed the
office of China Business, a newspaper claiming to be based in Hong
Kong. The department confiscated a large amount of newspapers and
press cards issued by China International Reporters Association
(CIRA).
An investigation found that the CIRA was an illegal organization
and was not registered with civil affairs departments. The press
cards issued by the CIRA looked similar to those issued by the
GAPP. The CIRA website -- www.cira.com.cn -- resembled that of the
GAPP in layout and carried documents and notices issued by the
GAPP.
Its "press card authentication system" recognized authorized
press cards as "fake", which severely disrupted normal press card
management.
The spokesman said that the use of foreign publication numbers
to publish in China was illegal and offenders would be
prosecuted.
(Xinhua News Agency April 14, 2006)
