China official mocked for wearing gold earrings while crying about local flood disaster

A Chinese county official who cried about her village’s flood disaster has faced sarcastic comments for wearing a pair of gold earrings.The incident took an unexpected turn when a majority of online observers showed support for her.Shimen county in central China’s Hunan province was hit by heavy rains from May 17, which triggered severe floods and landslides.According to an official report on May 22, the disaster left six people dead, 10 missing and affected over 100,000 people.The party secretary of the Longchihe village in the county, Xiang Jinyuan, spoke in tears about her village’s disastrous condition in front of a camera.Village official Xiang Jinyuan wipes away her tears as she talks about the flood damage. Photo: Sohu“There is no electricity or internet,” she said, expressing her fears about the village with a hoarse voice.But some online users focused on the pair of gold earrings she was wearing, and commented sarcastically on them.“That is a nice pair of earrings,” one person said.“Her speech is moving but it will be more moving if she donates her gold earrings,” said another.Previously, some Chinese government officials landed in hot water for publicly wearing luxury accessories.A worker, above, clears up after heavy rainfall flooded Shimen county. Photo: SohuFor instance, an official from Hohhot, in China’s Inner Mongolia region, was criticised for wearing a pair of Van Cleef & Arpels’ earrings said to be worth 30,000 yuan (US$4,400) during a Covid-19 pandemic briefing.Further ReadingSeveral local officials were investigated and dismissed after people spotted them wearing luxury leather belts, shoes and watches in public, which later proved to be evidence of their corruption.However, in Xiang’s case, most online observers showed support, saying it was normal for middle-aged village women to own gold jewellery.“Her earrings look no more than six or seven grams, which are not expensive and even cheaper if she bought them years ago, cheaper than a smartphone,” one person said.“A cadre is just another human, not a god. She can of course own a pair of gold earrings,” said another.Xiang, above, gestures as she talks about the flood damage suffered by the village. Photo: Sohu“We can see her hard work and integrity. As long as she or her family paid for the earrings with their legitimate salary, it is nobody else’s business,” said a third.Xiang also responded to the sarcastic comments, saying that she “had no time to check the internet” because she was dedicated to the resettlement of 900 people in her village.She needed to check house by house to assess their level of damage.“24 hours a day is not enough for me,” she said.In another interview with the state media on May 26, Xiang further explained that the earrings were fake and they cost less than 100 yuan (US$14).