Why overstuffed news bureaus in China blackmail sources, and why the tradition of hong bao (cash-filled red envelopes) is likely to continue, covered by my colleague here and here and posted on China Digital Times by Newsweek's Jonathan Ansfield here.

It's not just the practice in China, but also in Taiwan (scroll to reader comment from 11/4/06). It's not just among journalists but also local officials.