Beijing: A Chinese woman TV journalist has been suspended from work after being photographed wearing sunglasses and holding an umbrella while interviewing volunteers in typhoon-hit Fujian province, prompting immediate outrage on social media.
The unidentified journalist's picture, widely circulated on the internet, showed her speaking to volunteers in Xiamen city as they worked to help the city recover from the deadly Typhoon Meranti.
"One of our journalists didn't obey our rules and failed to conduct an interview properly. She had behaved inappropriately while doing the interview.
Her behaviour has violated the professional codes of conduct, damaged the image of journalists and has had a negative impact on the public," Xiamen TV station was quoted as saying by Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
Most people that wrote comments criticised her attire, particularly as she was speaking to volunteers who were busy clearing up the devastated city.
They also said wearing that sunglasses while doing the interview suggested the journalist did not respect the people she was interviewing.
"If you know how difficult and hard it is to be a journalist, you would not focus on her accessories," a netizen said.
But another Weibo user said the problem was that she appeared to lack manners and failed to show respect to the people she was interviewing.
Typhoon Meranti killed at least seven people in Fujian and left nine others missing after striking the southeast coast of the mainland on September 15.
