There is no need to answer questions like "Whether the Western news system or journalism values have anything to do with the hacking row" now. Rupert Murdoch and his defunct News of the World were hunted down simply because they had gone too far.

It is surprising that some are still defending such value systems after the scandal became universally known, and even claiming that the revelation of the scandal is because of journalists' persistence and freedom of information. The BBC even cracked out a story, paying tribute to press freedom and the defense of human rights on this issue.

Such claims were clearly confusing logic while underestimating the intelligence of the people. What they want to say, after all, once again is that their concepts, along with the industry that they guide, are fundamentally superior to all others.

What should further be investigated and discussed is the motives and social factors behind the scandal, especially why it happened in the UK rather than a developing country. Discussion on how the scandal was exposed cannot help at all.

Serious problems in concept and supervision had allowed hacking to run rampant. The profit-driven newspaper system abandoned all limits and there were no barriers left to slow it down. It is praising the thickness of a barrier that almost killed a speeding driver if one argues that it is the system that uncovered this notorious scandal.

The scandal proved that even in countries like the UK, a former imperial giant which is famous for its comprehensive legal system, basic human rights might not be fully protected, given the fundamental protections didn't work well when they were badly needed.

In Western countries, journalists are sometimes confused about the role of their moral code when it collides with their duties. The contradictions have become even more apparent with the development of technology. The greedy Western media, whose social responsibility has gradually vanished thanks to the connivance of so-called freedom of information, is simply not superior at all given it has infringed on the privacy of so many innocent people.

Further more, since the disgraceful News of the World was not alone, and other scandals are being exposed at papers as diverse as the Sunday Times and the Mirror, we can see that the rampant hacking reflected deep-rooted problems within the industry.

Nothing is perfect. People are born with the right to blame the crooked system, no matter whether the critics have any other problems themselves. Those who can't treat critics well will gain little from their painful mistakes. Thus the Chinese media, despite its own problems, has the right to criticize the UK on this issue.

The core problem of the West is that they always urge China to become a carbon copy of their templates and standards, ignoring that we are ideologically and systematically different.

Similarly, every time when developing countries scold them, the West is convinced that the likes of China, plagued by its own problems for a long time, are not even qualified to criticize. The illusion of superiority leads them to their position of moral arrogance.

The author is a senior reporter with the People's Daily. dinggang@globaltimes.com.cn

Murdoch scandal doesn't tarnish all Western media