Chinese official removed over Arbor Day event

An official in central China's Hunan Province has been removed from her post for organizing a tree planting event that rolled out the red carpet for officials, local authorities said on Monday.

Tang Mei'e, former district head of Yongzhou City All-China Women's Federation, has been removed from her post, according to municipal authorities.

Pictures circulated online on March 12 showing a group of people walking along a red carpet on a mountain slope during a tree-planting event organized by the district's women federation and forestry bureau.

The red carpet stirred controversy online, with many saying the pomp and circumstance was purely for show.

The organizers responded that an old carpet had been laid because the mountain road was slippery.

During an investigation by the municipal authorities, it was discovered that rolling out the red carpet for Arbor Day events violated disciplinary codes of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The authorities decided to remove Tang Mei'e from her post and issued warnings to other participants.

Officials carpeted over 'red carpet'

China's Hunan Province was scandalized on Friday by public criticism of an official activity on China's national Tree Planting Day.