CCTV’s main offices in Beijing are known locally as ‘the underpants’ in an unflattering reference to the TV headquarters’ unusual design. The building was back in the news last week when the capital was hit by its worst sandstorms in 13 years. The timing couldn’t have been worse for the broadcaster, which had spent the previous 40 days scrubbing the building’s glass.
“CCTV spent Rmb500,000 ($80,651) cleaning ‘the underpants’ only for it to be submerged in sand in just 10 minutes,” reported the Shanghai Morning Post. Netizens were quick to poke fun too. “The big pants are dirty on the inside, not on the outside,” wrote one, hinting at the corruption cases that have blighted the broadcaster. In a similar vein another netizen posted: “Rmb500,000 was spent washing the outer walls, but even Rmb50 million is not enough to clean up the inside.”
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