A TV anchor in China was forced off the air during a live broadcast after he ranted against officials for corruption.
Jingzhou TV news host Cui Jianbin denounced officials from Fangxian county for their “luxurious lifestyles without improving the people’s lot or their own governance.”
Cui had delivered a report about officials who built a luxury office building in Hubei’s Fangxian county. The area is one of China’s poorest and is eligible for state poverty relief.
After finishing the report, Cui went off script, criticizing “wasteful and corrupt officials who spent extravagant amount of money despite the struggles of average citizens.”
“Cui’s tirade was interrupted, presumably by a staff member off-screen, and after asking out loud if he could finish speaking, the anchor stormed off,” a report by NDTV said.
“Government officials think ordinary people are blind,” Cui said before he was cut off, according to the China Digital News.
A Weibo hashtag discussion about the incident attracted over 300,000 comments by mid-afternoon.
Here’s a clip of the newscast with English subtitles from the South China Morning Post:
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Richard L. Cassin is the Publisher and Editor of the FCPA Blog. He can be contacted here.
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