Photo taken on late Jan 30, 2014 shows hosts talking during the 2014 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, in Beijing, capital of China. [Photo/Xinhua]

TICKETS FOR CHINA Central Television's 2016 Spring Festival Gala are reportedly being sold by some online service providers, such as Ganji.com, for up to 88,000 yuan ($13,375). CCTV says it does not sell tickets for the Lunar New Year show through any channels. Yanzhao Evening News commented on Wednesday:

Although China Central Television does not sell tickets for its annual Spring Festival Gala, they always appear for sale online.

It deals a heavy blow to the image of both the program and the broadcaster, if some people end up paying a lot for fake tickets.

True, it is possible that some people who are invited to the gala and receive tickets might not be able to attend and so seek to sell their tickets.

But such a seemingly fair exchange can still lead to disputes when it comes to the price, because the tickets are not for sale, therefore do not have a price in the first place.

Therefore, the broadcaster is obliged to not only remind potential ticket purchasers of the risks, but also prevent them from being deceived.

For example, people should be informed of how the Spring Festival gala tickets are distributed, so they are aware that tickets sold online are probably fakes.

More importantly, the not-for-sale tickets, which are given to a certain group of people as gifts, should not be transferrable.

That being said, all ticket holders, no matter how they manage to acquire their tickets, should be required to provide valid identification to enter the auditorium, in accordance with a real-name registration policy.