AFP/screenshot from video
Six high-profile state TV anchors in Shanghai have been suspended by their employers after they attended a recent birthday party for businessman Zhou Zhengyi following his early release from a 16-year jail term for bribery and embezzlement.
Zhou threw a lavish 60th-birthday bash at a five-star hotel on the Bund in Shanghai on April 23, which was attended by several presenters and hosts from state-run Dragon Television.
Video clips from the star-studded event went viral on social media platforms in China, showing Zhou roaming around the venue, taking photos with guests, in obviously high spirits.
All six presenters have now been suspended, RFA has learned.
Photo: RFA
Propaganda officials in Shanghai are investigating the appearance of several high-profile TV anchors at a recent birthday party for businessman Zhou Zhengyi following his early release from a 16-year jail term for bribery and embezzlement.
Zhou threw a lavish 60th-birthday bash at a five-star hotel on the Bund in Shanghai last weekend, which was attended by several presenters and hosts from state-run Dragon Television.
Video clips from the star-studded event went viral on social media platforms in China, showing Zhou roaming around the venue, taking photos with guests, in obviously high spirits.
The hosts were later reportedly subjected to investigation and punishment from their employers, as the Shanghai branch of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) s propaganda department looked into the matter, after viewing the video clips online, according to screenshots seen by RFA.