Watchdog weeds out online charity scams

China's top charity watchdog has pledged credit stains for charities that breach rules concerning online fundraising and warned against turning the activity into unregulated "online begging".

Ma Xin, director of charity administration for the National Bureau for Social Organization Management, revealed the new measures in an exclusive interview in response to an online fundraising scandal last month.

The director said the measure supplements the Charity Law in punishing offenses concerning online charities and has a longer effect than the penalties prescribed in the law. "Charities will have notations on their credit record and face joint punishments including higher taxation or exclusion from government contracts," she said.