Attempt to avert public supervision backfires

OFFICIALS IN HUXIAN COUNTY OF XI'AN, Shaanxi province, reportedly hired locals to stalk visiting journalists, whose real-time whereabouts, possible destinations and even their license plates were instantly reported to the local "work groups" using the instant-messaging app WeChat. Beijing News commented on Thursday:

Using online group chats to share "intelligence" about the journalists, who apparently had good reason to be present in the county, seems to have missed the point of efficient governance.

With the intelligence-sharing group chats dismissed and the hired snoops put under investigation, questions should be asked about the boundaries of public power. Spying on journalists is clearly not a part of a government's responsibilities.