Hu Jiyong, a top official at a subsidiary of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), was removed from his positions after a video that showed the 50-something man allegedly having an extramarital affair with a young female colleague had Chinese social media abuzz in early June. The woman he was captured holding hands with during a trip to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province in southwest China, was also dismissed. Investigations are still ongoing at the time of writing.

Taikoo Li Chengdu, the shopping complex where the pair was caught on camera, reiterated that the complex prohibits unauthorized commercial street photography. Given that the video was first posted by a street photographer, some people now have serious concerns about street photographers violating people's privacy. This type of photography/videography, showing people going about their daily lives, has grown increasingly popular on Douyin, China's version of TikTok, and popular lifestyle and e-commerce platform Xiaohongshu.

Zhou Xueze (Dazhong Daily): In the digital era, the Internet is an important platform to supervise public employees. While the privacy of ordinary people comes with strict legal protection, said employees must subject themselves to public supervision. In this sense, the street photographer did not violate Hu's privacy.

Public employees include those who are employed by state-owned enterprises. As executive director, Party committee secretary and general manager of a Beijing-based CNPC subsidiary, known as Huanqiu Project Management, Hu falls into the category of personnel subject to public supervision.

The photographer who posted the video online is an influencer well known for his photos and videos shot along this bustling Chengdu area. He said he'd accidentally captured the two people walking hand in hand and had obtained their consent before continuing to shoot the video.

When their misconduct occurs in the public sphere, public employees must and will be subjected to supervision. Their rights to individual privacy will then become secondary.

Sun Weifei (ThePaper.cn): The street photographer did not secretly obtain the footage but had obtained the pair's consent. The question now is whether the two had agreed to the photographer posting the video online. Even if one is allowed to photograph or film a person, this does not necessarily mean they have permission to publicize the imagery captured. The distribution of certain images can easily have serious consequences, particularly in the digital age. It remains unclear whether the two agreed to having the video posted on the Internet.

The behavior of public employees can affect national interest. So the degree of their privacy protection depends on specific situations. If they are suspected of engaging in criminal activity, it's unnecessary to blur or pixelate their faces to protect their privacy and identity.

In the case of Hu, even if in the name of supervising a state-owned enterprise executive and his rumored mistress, whether their video can be put online without blurring their faces remains debatable. It's better to lodge a complaint indicating moral misconduct to the disciplinary inspection authorities rather than directly posting their video online. After all, nobody can tell with any certainty if his suspected extramarital affair will directly result in the losses of state-owned assets. But it is certain that his personal reputation and his family will be seriously affected by recent events. His alleged love affair is a private matter.

Anti-corruption investigations triggered by alleged affairs are usually hit-or-miss. An over-reliance on these types of incidents to uncover corruption may satisfy curiosity, but an effective supervisory system for public employees is more important.

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon 

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