When the chinese government said scandalous tv footage of a beijing snack vendor stuffing steamed buns with flavoured cardboard was a hoax, some quipped that even the news in china is fake. But since the authorities detained hidden-camera-wielding reporter zi beijia and a handful of others last week, many ordinary chinese have said they doubt the government?s line and believe the story of the cardboard ?baozi?, as the buns are called in mandarin.

True or not, the original report came at a sensitive time, with china under mounting pressure from abroad over food and product safety scandals and just days after the government blasted foreign media for blowing the story out of proportion.

Suspicion of the government?s denial of the story, and arrests, highlights an underlying scepticism that many chinese have towards government Propaganda.