More than 20?police officers were found to be dining on a Chinese giant salamander, an endangered amphibian species under national-level protection, in Shenzhen, Guangdong province on Jan 21. A journalist trying to take photos was attacked and his camera damaged; the policemen that arrived later even helped their fellows leave. Local authorities said an investigation is underway. Comments:

The authorities say a retired Party official organized the luxurious party. That's a unique kind of corruption in China, as officials continue casting influence upon government agencies through networks of personal interests. The anti-graft agencies need to pay special attention to such cases and dig deeper for clues.

cnhubei.com, Jan 27

Hope the final official report does not forget to answer the following questions. It was five days after the incident that the first report was published; what happened in the time in between? Who ordered local police to protect those attacking the reporter? Some officials claimed the giant salamander they ate was farmed instead of being wild; is that a lie? Are their deeds illegal?

xinhuanet.com, Jan 26

In the past two years officials dining luxuriously at the public's expense, which was once rampant, have been curbed a little. It is the joint efforts of the top leadership's determination, public supervision and strict law enforcement that have curtailed the practice. If the responsible Shenzhen bureaucrats go unpunished, there would be a negative influence on people's enthusiasm for supervising power. Please do not let that happen.

hsw.com, Jan 27

The police are supposed to help the people, but in reality they serve power. The police that helped the officers leave the site and hampered the journalist's work are not worth the title. They act like gangsters and deserve punishment for their illegal deeds.

Beijing News, Jan 27