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Official sacked after getting piggyback ride

Net users have mixed feelings over a township official who was removed Monday from his post, after a picture of him being carried on the back of a village Party secretary sparked outrage online.

Allegedly afraid that his expensive shoes would be damaged by floods caused by the typhoon in Zhejiang Province, the official, surnamed Wang, was exposed by Sina Weibo user hasangqi on China's Twitter-like platform.

Wang, in his 40s, was seen receiving a piggyback by Xu Guoqing, a 60-year-old village official of the province's Sanqishi township in Yuyao.

The post suggested a lack of sympathy from Wang for the local residents living through a difficult time.

But Sanqishi township argued that Wang had not worn a pair of expensive shoes, but cloth ones, and Xu acquainted with Wang, wanted to show kindness by carrying the official across the flooded fields, Chengdu Business Daily reported Wednesday.

Net users were divided, with some believing the online whistle-blower had been reckless in his assumptions while some did not believe the explanation behind the photo.

Others sympathized with Wang, the "unfortunate" official, saying that a small issue had been blown out of proportion by online users in big cities who do not understand what life is like in rural areas.

Net user Yuqilin, meanwhile, questioned whether the online whistle-blower was too quick to act so cynically, an increasingly disturbing trend.