A photo montage is being circulated on Sina Weibo that shows Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) delegate Li Xiaolin wearing an Emilio Pucci blazer and pants suit contrasted against a group of raggedy village children.
Li Xiaolin is currently attending the CPPCC events at the “Two Meetings” of China’s National People’s Congress underway in Beijing. Weibo user Cairangduoji uploaded the montage with the following comment (in translation):
CPPCC delegate, CEO of China Power International Development Ltd, Li Xiaolin, wears a salmon pant suit from Emilio Pucci’s spring-summer 2012 collection, prcied at 12,000 yuan. That amount could help 200 chldren wear warm clothes, and avoid the chilly attacks of winter. Li Xiaolin has said, “I think we should open a morality file on all citizens to control everyone and give them a “sense of shame”.
Reactions to this posting vary from support of these sentiments to comments such as “Why shouldn’t rich people wear good clothes? This is a serious case of sour grapes!”
While the CPPCC is an “advisory body” whose delegates are not full time politicians, Li Xiaolin happens to be the daughter of former premier Li Peng (who held office from 1987 to 1998). She is not the only one under scrutiny; a search for “Emilio Pucci” on Weibo reveals hundreds of postings about Li, but many of them contain other photo montages such as the one below in which NPC delegates sport clothing and accessories by Hermès, Chanel, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Celine, and Burberry.
Strike a pose at the NPC!
Links and sources
Ministry of Tofu: Chinese lawmakers, political delegates sporting high fashion draw criticism from netizens(additional photos, Weibo comments in translation)
Weibo: Original posting of montage by Cairangduoji, “Sour grapes” comment by Ma Huaqing, More montages of delegates and their bling 1, 2
Emilio Pucci spring summer collection 2012: Blazer / suit (priced at USD 1,990)
China Power International Development Ltd. website
Wikipedia: Li Xiaolin
China Digital Times: “Do Not Hype Gourmet Food or Luxury Clothing!”