Relief, disbelief and confusion were evident on the streets of Beijing after the widely aired TV news report about dumpling makers using cardboard as an ingredient was exposed as a hoax.

Chen Huiqin, a retired middle school teacher from Shanghai, said the hoax was beyond belief.

"I guess government departments must be hoping to reduce the negative impact on the public by declaring the TV news report a hoax," she said.

A cab driver, who asked to be identified only by his surname Liu, agreed, saying he could not believe the investigative TV news report aired by Beijing TV on July 8 was a fabrication.

"It's not just me, most of my customers didn't believe it was a hoax either," said Liu. "But to avoid eating cardboard dumplings, I only eat meat dumplings at established restaurants."

An Internet user from east China's Zhejiang Province, wrote in a posting on Sina.com, "It cannot be a hoax, but calling it a fabricated report must be intended to serve the purpose of a harmonious society."

A woman living in an apartment near Panjiayuan, southeastern Beijing, who gave her surname as Chen, said she was totally confused about the "cardboard dumplings" reports.

"It was awful to watch the pictures -- soaking cardboard in water with caustic soda, chefs chopping the soaked cardboard, the oven used for stewing the cardboard -- but those pictures seemed so real," said the middle-aged woman. "It doesn't matter if it was a lie, I'm going to avoid all filled dumplings."

However, the announcement that the news report was fabricated did bring a relief to an office worker surnamed Bai.

"I love meat dumplings. But several days back, my mom told me about the TV report and warned me not to eat them anymore," said Bai. "I did obey her, but when I heard the report was made up early on Thursday, I felt so relieved, I ran out and bought six meat dumplings for five yuan."

Beijing Television aired the investigative report on Beijing dumpling makers using cardboard as an ingredient in a slot known as "Transparency" on the Life Channel on July 8.

The so-called cardboard meat buns gained more publicity on July 11 when CCTV also broadcast the report by Zi Beijia, a temporary employee of Beijing TV, sparking a public outcry.

However, late on Wednesday, Beijing TV admitted the expose was in fact a hoax. The TV service apologized in an evening news program on Wednesday for having aired the fabricated report produced by Zi with a home digital video camera.

The next day, the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA) released a statement criticizing journalists involved in the fabricated report, saying it "severely violated journalistic ethics and severely tarnished the image and social credibility of the Chinese media".

It carried on to say the report had "severely ruined the reputation of the State" and made the public "astonished and angry".

"The ACJA, on behalf of journalism professionals all over the country, strongly condemns the fabrication and urges the media to take feasible and cogent measures to put an end to news fabrication," the statement said.

"Authenticity is the lifeblood of journalism and ensuring authenticity of news reports is the basic professional ethic of journalists and a social responsibility which journalists must bear."

Six workers at Beijing TV were either criticized, reprimanded or sacked for their roles in the report.

The head of Beijing Television Station, Liu Aiqin, was publicly reprimanded, and editor-in-chief Zhang Xiao was given a warning. One deputy editor-in-chief was given a demerit, said sources close to the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

All three were asked to compose self-criticisms.

The deputy director in charge of the Life Channel of the TV service -- the director's post is vacant -- and the producer and a deputy director in charge of the Transparency program were sacked.

Police have arrested the reporter, Zi Beijia, a temporary employee.

Beijing TV has also terminated the contracts of editorial staff on the Transparency program.

(Xinhua News Agency July 21, 2007)