SOME media industry insiders and researchers applauded the courage and resourcefulness of the journalist and praised the report for providing solid proof and detailed descriptions about the secret process behind the illegal replacement of students taking the Gaokao, according to China Daily.

    “It’s what a journalist should do,” said Xu Qingliang, former executive editor of Southern Metropolis Weekly, which is part of the same media group as Southern Metropolis Daily, the covert journalist’s employer.

    By contrast, Chen Baocheng, a reporter from Caixin Media, criticized the covert journalism, saying that because the reporter used another person’s identity to gain admittance, he committed the same act as those he was attempting to uncover and should be punished. A news article is no excuse, Chen said.

    That view is not shared by many. The undercover journalist informed the local public security bureau about his intentions before entering the testing room Sunday, and he wrote his intentions on the test paper. That sets him apart from other ghostwriters, who are making money by taking exams for others, Xu said. The student whose name the reporter used to gain admittance will not benefit.

    However, some felt that the release of the story to coincide with the first day of the multi-day exam was poor timing. The attention from education authorities and society may make some students nervous, he said.

    Though he supported the publication of a report on the sensitive topic of ghostwriters on the national exam, Wang Tianding, a professor at the journalism and communications school at Xi’an International Studies College, said the covert journalist’s eye-catching story might not be appropriate because sitting in as a replacement for others in the national exam is illegal.

    At least one lawyer thought otherwise. “Though there are discussions on whether the reporter’s behavior is appropriate or not, it’s not illegal under the law,” said Yi Shenghua, a Beijing-based criminal lawyer. He said the reporter did not make money by replacing another for the exam. He was only digging up facts and collecting proof about ghostwriters and had no intention of committing a crime. (SD-Agencies)