Beijing, May 29: A prominent Chinese newspaper group has fired a reporter and suspended two editors after they published an article saying one in 10 female university students in a major Chinese city work as prostitutes, a manager at the paper said today. The article about the central city of Wuhan appeared May 21 in youth reference, published by the China Youth Daily, one of the mainland's biggest newspapers. It was reprinted by several newspapers in areas throughout the country.
Reporter Chen Jieren has been fired and two editors, fan Yongsheng and Liang Ping, were suspended, said a manager in the newspaper's administration office in Beijing. She wouldn't give her name or other details.
The paper published an apology May 23, saying its report ``did not have any basis.''
Though still state-run, China's newspapers have grown livelier in recent years, boosting coverage of sports, celebrities and scandal to compete for readers as government subsidies fall and they are forced to fend for themselves commercially.
China Youth Daily is one of the most prominent of such new market-oriented newspapers, with eye-catching photos, colorful graphics and reporting on social problems.
Chen's article cited a university student in the central city of Wuhan who said 8 per cent to 10 per cent of female university students paid for their education by working as prostitutes.
Bureau Report