Chinese TV Anchor Yanked for Going Off Script

Cui Jianbin

The host of a popular Chinese online news show was pulled and replaced during a live broadcast after he went off-script and criticized government leaders, according to THR.

Cui Jianbin, the host of Hubei Television's Longshang Channel -- a show normally dedicated to agricultural news -- was presenting a piece about the construction of a new luxury office building in Hubei's poor, rural Fangxian county, when he abruptly began improvising, blasting the “wasteful and corrupt authorities” for spending huge amounts of money on the extravagant project while ordinary citizens continue to struggle to get by in its shadow. "I want them to get as far away from here as possible," he added.



In an original recording of the segment that soon leaked to streaming video sites, Cui appears to be interrupted by someone off-screen and defiantly asks, "Can I finish speaking?" He then storms off the set and a new female anchor appears and is seen putting her mic in place as she hastily begins to present an unrelated news item.

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