Lai SeeWe can delete it for you wholesale

While the anti-corruption crackdown on the mainland is causing a degree of pain for those in the restaurant and luxury goods business, it has been good news for another kind of business.

These are the so-called "black public relations" firms, which, according to The Daily Telegraph, can make stories "go away". The newspaper quotes a manager at Yage Times, one of the largest of these firms: "It does not matter how big or sensitive the story is, we can make it disappear."

What officials with something to hide fear most is the internet, which accounted for 42 per cent of tip-offs about corrupts officials this year. Business is apparently booming, with at least 30 companies that have sprung up to offer government officials, shady businessmen and scandal-hit celebrities the opportunity to "clean up" their image online.

The Telegraph quotes a representative from one firm as saying it recently helped the head of a police bureau delete stories about him on the internet. "We can clean your name from blogs, forums, news websites, Weibo, everything," the firm says. Apparently, it costs 13,000 yuan (HK$16,460) to have a story deleted from the People's Daily website or from Xinhua.

One company claimed to have had 313 clients in the past 30 days. Deleting a story apparently requires either bribing an editor at a website or a government official who can send a censorship demand.