Reporter suspended for covering storm with umbrella and sunglasses

A Chinese TV reporter has been suspended after holding an umbrella and wearing sunglasses while interviewing volunteers cleaning up a city after a typhoon.

Image of a reporter from Xiamen TV holding an umbrella, wearing sunglasses and a handbag during an interview. Photo: Shanghaiist

Images circulating on social media show a reporter from Xiamen TV carrying a handbag while conducting the interview.

The strongest typhoon of the year, Meranti, made landfall last week near Xiamen city, P.hit Kien, causing hundreds of thousands of people to lose electricity and water. According to Shanghaiist, many social media users said that the reporter's outfit showed disrespect to volunteers and victims of natural disasters.

In response to strong public reaction, on September 20, the TV station issued a statement on its official Weibo page., said the reporter was suspended for conducting an inappropriate interview, "damaging the image of reporters and causing negative reactions in society".

Many people expressed agreement with this punishment.

"Reporters need to learn to show respect to people," one commenter said.

However, there are those who think public opinion is overreacting.

The reporter is not the first to lose his job after Typhoon Meranti. Last week, a Zhejiang official was fired after a photo of him being carried through mud in a disaster zone went viral online.

Zhejiang official fired after letting staff carry him across muddy road. Photo: Shanghaiist

According to VNE