CHINA —Recently, Hu Jiyong (胡继勇), an executive director in a China state-owned enterprise, was removed from his post for allegedly involving in extramarital affairs, after a video of him holding hands with a woman, who was neither his wife nor daughter, went viral online.
Last week, a photographer in Chengdu uploaded a video on the Chinese social media platform Douyin. The video depicted a middle-aged man holding hands with a young woman in a pink dress.
While walking in the shopping district, they appeared to be in a good mood, chitchatting and smiling. In another video, the young woman even waved her hand to the photographer.
Although the original video has been deleted from the photographer’s social media account, other Chinese netizens reuploaded it on Weibo and Douyin, causing it to go viral.
The footage gained further traction when online users, who recognized the duo, identified the man as Hu Jiyong.
Hu is the executive director of Huanqiu Project Management (Beijing) Co Ltd (HQPMC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Petroleum Engineering.
Additionally, Hu held the positions of general manager and secretary of the company’s Chinese Communist Party Committee within HQPMC.
The woman was identified as Dong Sijin (董思槿), one of Hu’s subordinates who had previously received an award from him.
Miss Dong honored with the title of “Advanced Individual in QHSE” by the company in early 2023
In a statement issued by the HQPMC company in January this year, the company even praised Miss Dong, the company’s employee in the QHSE and Technical Department, who played a dedicated role as an HSE manager, “fulfilled her responsibilities diligently, demonstrating her professionalism and commitment through practical actions. ”
“Since joining the company, she has humbly sought advice from leaders and colleagues, striving to learn various business knowledge. She quickly assumed the important role of managing HSE within the company and gained wide recognition and praise from the company’s staff and executives.”
As a result, she was honored with the title of Advanced Individual in QHSE for the year 2022 by the company.
The company sacked Mr. Hu
In response to the viral video, HQPMC issued a statement on 7 June, announcing that Mr. Hu had been fired from all three positions he held in the company.
“The company’s party committee attaches great importance to this matter and has immediately organized a thorough investigation. ”
“Currently, Mr. Hu Jiyong, the person involved, has been relieved of his positions as Executive Director, Party Secretary, and General Manager of the company. He is also undergoing an investigation by the company’s disciplinary committee.”
The statement added that further actions will be taken based on the results.
China media also reported that the woman, Miss Dong also had already been suspended by the company’s Committee for Discipline Inspection, and the investigation is ongoing.
Photographer: the couple didn’t decline to be filmed
Meanwhile, the photographer, known as Xiaomi, told Chinese media that the couple didn’t decline to be filmed when he took the video.
Xiaomi explained that after the video went viral online, the individuals involved sent him a private message, and out of respect for the wishes of the people in the video, he decided to delete it.
Xiao Mi recalled that at the time of the street shooting, the two individuals did not refuse, added that other photographers were also capturing shots publicly and directly in front of them, and they did not decline.
“If they had refused, we wouldn’t have taken the shots or shared them.”
