A little girl adopts a pose beside a car on display at an auto show in Wuhan. The picture was one of several which sparked online outrage. |
VISITORS to an auto show in central Wuhan City were shocked to see a five-year-old girl wearing only a bikini and a wig blowing them a kiss while her other hand gently caressed a car.
She was one of three child models, aged four to five, wearing bikinis and striking "sexy" poses at the auto exhibition in the Hubei Province capital last Friday.
The display may have been at attempt to amuse visitors bored with the usual array of scantily-clad young women but instead the overwhelming reaction was one of outrage.
Tens of thousands of netizens expressed their fury at the girls' parents and show organizers for "being willing to ruin their children's lives for money" and "attracting public attention by crossing the moral red line."
In a set of photos and a video recording, the three bikini girls are seen posing with other adult models. In one picture, a girl is seen trying to mimic a "sexy" pose by bending over while holding a car's rearview mirror.
The photos and the video spread like wildfire on the Internet, stirring huge waves of controversy.
"Now even little girls have fallen victims to businessmen's pursuit of profit," was one online comment.
Another netizen asked: "What kind of evil minds are driving the parents and the organizers to dress the children in bikinis just to attract more eyes and satisfy pedophiles? And to those who filmed and pictured them, where is their conscience?"
Landmark building should respect the public's feeling