You remember Li Hongzhong from yesterday’s post? This was his case-study on how to deal with a tough question from a reporter:
Li Hongzhong, governor of Hubei province, was asked by a People’s Daily reporter about last year’s case of a hotel worker whose murder charges were dismissed after she claimed she had acted in self-defense when an official and his colleague tried to rape her. His reply: “Are you really from the People’s Daily? And you ask such a question? What kind of Communist Party mouthpiece are you? Is this how you guide public opinion? What’s your name? I’m going to find your boss.”
And here is the China Digital Time’s excellent roundup of the totally predictable results.
Remember, media training: It’s not just for capitalist running dogs any more.
By “smashing”, you mean “snatching”? The recorder wasn’t damaged according to any report.
Duly noted. His PR would have been really bad then.
As far as I can tell, the entire scandal — as such — has been created and kept alive within the Chinese liberal circle, or what others refer to as — yes, exactly — “capitalist running dogs”. They’ve made a big splash out of it among themselves, but I’m yet to see any coverage outside the “universal values” crowd. To be honest, the latest moves by the people trying to maximize their political gain out of this story are silly to the point of desperation: An open letter demanding Li’s resignation? Can you imagine the governor of a US state resigning for being rude to a reporter? Let’s get real, guys.