A Hubei company is being investigated for supplying essays to students, but the government is struggling to find a suitable way to regulate or ban it as no laws have been broken.
Wuhan Industry and Commerce Bureau officials last week raided Wuhan Youda Technology Co after an Inner Mongolian college student complained she had almost lost her bachelor's degree over an essay she purchased.
Her tutor said the essay, which cost her 1,200 yuan (HK$1,370), was copied from websites and books, and the student had to amend it three times to pass, Xinhua reported.
In the raid, officials found receipts and documents proving the company ran an essay-writing business.
It charged clients, including teachers and students, between 1,000 and 5,000 yuan for each essay.
It had connections with 200 staff members of various publications that covered medicine, technology, finance and six other subject areas. Clients could also pay an additional 1,000 or 2,000 yuan to have the essays printed in magazines or academic journals.
The company, established in 2006, claimed to have about 80 writers - who all reputedly had at least a master's degree - in 10 provinces, and they were required to produce the essays in five to 15 days.
