A Chinese headteacher has been sacked after booking a pole dancer to perform at a back-to-school show for pupils as young as three and their families.
Lai Rong has been removed from her post for her role in organising the raunchy performance, which took place yesterday at the private Xinshahui Kindergarten in the southern city of Shenzhen.
A crowd of children aged three to six, “all first-day-ready in pristine white shirts and neatly pressed black shorts” looked on as a dancer in hotpants and heels performed “a routine that would not be out of place in a downtown strip club,” the South China Morning Post reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
Videos of the risqué show quickly went viral in China, spreading through chat apps and social media.
“How can I trust my children with them? I'm going to pull my kid out and ask for a refund,” one parent posted on social media platform WeChat.
The incident made international headlines thanks to a series of tweets posted by Michael Standaert, a journalist whose children attend the school.
In the video, which he says was filmed by a parent at the event, a woman can be seen holding a small child in her arms while a scantily-clad female performer gyrates around the pole to a pop soundtrack.
Another clip video shows small children laughing and playing in front of the stage.
According to Standaert, that this was not the first unconventional display devised by the principal.
Lai reportedly apologised to parents after the performance, according to transcripts posted to Chinese social media site Weibo, which quote her as saying she wanted to “liven up” the ceremony with professional dancers but “did not think through” the content of the routine.
Within hours of the clips going viral, Bao’an district educational officials confirmed that Lai had been removed from her post as principal, inviting any schools mulling a similar stunt to “reflect on this incident and strictly uphold education standards”.
Beginning the school year with a special ceremony is a common practice in Chinese schools, says Channel News Asia. However, the entertainment “usually consist[s] of performances and speeches”.
