China to crack down on unlicensed reporters

 BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Press regulators will step up efforts to weed out unlicensed reporters in order to preserve the reputation of the country's news media.

Irregular practices by news bureaus, the issuance of press cards to unqualified reporters and journalists' attempts to blackmail¹ others will also be targeted, said Liu Binjie, head of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), at a government meeting on the press industry held on Friday.

Authorities will work to eliminate illegal and deceptive² advertisements, as well as paid-for news in news publications, Liu said.

Discipline among reporters should also be intensified³, he said.

Authorities investigated 184 cases concerning unlicensed publications last year, confiscating⁴ 5 million copies of illegal publications in the process, the GAPP said in a statement.

The administration has told its officials to reduce bureaucracy and improve efficiency, as well as asked leading officials to spend at least 60 days inspecting and researching grassroots areas each year, according to the statement.

The administration has also asked its officials to carefully deal with inquiries⁵, complaints and petitions from the public.

Also on Friday, the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications released details concerning ten major cases that were handled by the office as part of a national crackdown on pornographic, pirated and unlicensed publications.

Two of the cases involved people who pretended to be journalists in order to extort⁶ "hush⁷ money" from their targets.

1 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

2 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

3 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 confiscating   

没收（confiscate的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• There was Mame by my side confiscating my intellects and attention. 有玛米坐在我身边，害得我心不在焉。
• Intimidate book sellers by confiscating books deemed unfavourable to the Barisan government. 充公被视为对国阵不利的书籍，威胁书商。

5 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 extort   

v.勒索，敲诈，强要

参考例句：

• The blackmailer tried to extort a large sum of money from him.勒索者企图向他勒索一大笔钱。
• They absolutely must not harm the people or extort money from them.严格禁止坑害勒索群众。

7 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！