On May 15th, Xiaomou, a chief physician at a top-tier hospital in Hunan, posted a private photo in a study group chat with 496 members. Despite being reminded by group members to take it down and refusing to apologize, the incident sparked heated discussions.
Recently, a reader reported the situation to Huashang Daily involving numerous experts, scholars, and cultural figures in the study group. The reader expressed that Xiaomou’s actions as a prominent chief physician at a top-tier hospital were inappropriate for sharing private photos within the group.
The incident reportedly occurred around 8 p.m. on May 15th, with Xiaomou failing to provide any explanation or apology after posting the private photo, leaving people puzzled.
Screenshots provided by the reader showed the study group chat had a total of 496 members. In the photo shared by Xiaomou, a man wearing a light pink shirt was captured in a selfie from a low angle, noticeably without wearing pants.
On the morning of May 19th, a journalist from the media contacted Xiaomou. When asked about whether the man in the photo was him, Xiaomou initially responded, “Posted wrong, not my selfie.” He then added, “It’s not forwarded from someone else, either posted wrongly, accidentally posted, nothing special.”
Regarding suggestions from group members for an explanation or apology, Xiaomou mentioned, “There’s no need for an explanation, it’s not explicit, doesn’t involve anything, just slightly exposing something.”
Subsequently, the topic labeled as “Chief Physician Shares Private Photo in Group of nearly 500 People” trended on Weibo and even reached the top.
Netizens commented, “Everyone understands.” “This once again confirms that character, education, and profession are completely unrelated.” “100% habitual offender, often walking by the river, how can your shoes not get wet, see, this is just posting in the wrong place!”
Historical information blogger “Writer Deng Haichun” wrote in a blog post, “While this photo may be considered a ‘mistake,’ ‘refusing to take it down, refusing to apologize, refusing to explain’ is not just an operational error but a failure of responsibility in a public setting.
“The uniqueness of the medical profession lies not only in technical proficiency but also in basic professional boundaries expected by the public. Especially in a public group with nearly 500 people, faced with clearly inappropriate dissemination of private content, the immediate response should be damage control, apology, and minimizing the impact, rather than dismissing it with ‘no big deal.’ Often, what escalates public opinion is not the mistake itself but the cavalier attitude towards it.
“From a legal perspective, whether such behavior constitutes a crime depends on the nature of the image, scope of distribution, and subjective intent, not necessarily escalating to criminal levels; but even if not illegal, it has crossed the boundaries of public civility and professional ethics. Especially in the healthcare industry, which heavily relies on societal trust, a chief physician acting out of line in a public space inevitably raises concerns about their professional self-discipline.
“The internet age presents a harsh reality: there’s just one ‘send’ that divides private and public spaces. Adults are entitled to a private life, but when private content enters the public domain, one cannot simply brush it off as ‘my personal business.’ After all, the social impact brought by professional status is inherently part of the profession.”