Official coverups targeted

Attention should also be paid to lies told by some officials seeking to avoid taking responsibility for their actions amid an ongoing intensified campaign against online rumors, the Xinhua News Agency noted Wednesday.

The report, which also listed four classic cases, claimed that some government agencies tended to release false information when accusations were leveled against some of their officials.

The case of Liu Tienan, former deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), was the first mentioned.

Following a real-name report in December last year by a journalist accusing Liu of taking bribes, the press office of the National Energy Administration under the NDRC immediately slammed the accusations as being "pure slander," adding that the administration would take legal action.

Liu was later expelled from the Party and removed from his posts for discipline violations.

Another case emerged on May 22, when a Sina Weibo post disclosed that a nightclub in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, used its rolling LED screen to welcome an official surnamed Tian with the commerce and industrial administration in Xiangcheng.

Officials quickly claimed that this was a mere prank, as the official involved was not in Zhengzhou at the time.

However, a follow-up probe showed that Tian was indeed there.

The Xinhua report has made many wonder if this may be a sign that the anti-rumor campaign has expanded from the public arena to officialdom, as Net users pointed out that officials usually resort to lies to protect their coworkers from being rebuked by the public and investigated by the disciplinary watchdog.

The Ministry of Public Security said on August 21 that police have launched a campaign warning Net users not to spread rumors.

So far, more than 100 suspects have been detained.

"There is no difference between officials and ordinary people in terms of fabricating rumors," said Xu Xianglin, deputy chief of the School of Government of Peking University, adding that no exception should be made in accordance to China's criminal law.

Compared to rumors from ordinary people, which are aimed at tarnishing personal reputations, false information by officials, however, would damage the government's credibility, Xu said.

When speaking on behalf of the government, they should watch their tongues and be accurate. "Releasing fabricated information without an investigation should result in dismissal, he said.

However, a system that can hold those officials accountable is needed, Xu noted.