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Jan 3, 2010
Ghostwriters drawing business
<!-- by line --> By The Straits Times China Bureau
BY DAY he is a white-collar executive working in a technology firm. By night, he runs a website that provides ghostwriting services for academic papers. 'Our customers are very busy, and they don't have the time to write their own research papers. That is when they come to us,' the resident of north-eastern Changchun city, who wants to be known only as Mr Liu, told The Sunday Times. Business has been good in the six months since he took over the company his friend set up. His team of five professional ghostwriters has helped churn out more than 50 academic papers. While Mr Liu, 35, declined to reveal revenue figures, the current market rate for a paper is 650 yuan (S$134). Businesses like Mr Liu's, though illicit, are on the rise in China. According to a study published last month by Wuhan University professor Shen Yang, the nationwide black market dealing in academic papers hit 180 million to 540 million yuan in revenue in 2007. Three-quarters of the business is done through the Internet, the study said. Companies set up websites and aggressively promote their services through social networking sites, as well as advertising on search engines and online shopping sites.
Additional reporting by Carol Feng
Read the full story in The Sunday Times.
[email protected]
Home > Breaking News > Asia > Story
Jan 3, 2010
Ghostwriters drawing business
<!-- by line --> By The Straits Times China Bureau
BY DAY he is a white-collar executive working in a technology firm. By night, he runs a website that provides ghostwriting services for academic papers. 'Our customers are very busy, and they don't have the time to write their own research papers. That is when they come to us,' the resident of north-eastern Changchun city, who wants to be known only as Mr Liu, told The Sunday Times. Business has been good in the six months since he took over the company his friend set up. His team of five professional ghostwriters has helped churn out more than 50 academic papers. While Mr Liu, 35, declined to reveal revenue figures, the current market rate for a paper is 650 yuan (S$134). Businesses like Mr Liu's, though illicit, are on the rise in China. According to a study published last month by Wuhan University professor Shen Yang, the nationwide black market dealing in academic papers hit 180 million to 540 million yuan in revenue in 2007. Three-quarters of the business is done through the Internet, the study said. Companies set up websites and aggressively promote their services through social networking sites, as well as advertising on search engines and online shopping sites.
Additional reporting by Carol Feng
Read the full story in The Sunday Times.
[email protected]
