Bids to rein in watchdog set to backfire

It's no surprise for governments anywhere in the world not to enjoy the watchdog role of the press, but those as daring as the one in Dongguan of South China's Guangdong province are few and far between.

The city's Party publicity department, the overseer of the local news media, announced recently that it would issue a special journalist certificate in order to facilitate the work of reporters.

The move, which some think is aimed at blocking journalists deemed unfriendly by the local government, has drawn fire across the country as a gross violation of journalists' rights to do their work.