New Delhi: Doordarshan has sacked a newsreader for slipping up and pronouncing the name of Chinese President Xi Jinping wrong, while reporting about his arrival in Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The newsreader reportedly confused the Chinese head of state’s name – Xi – for the Roman numeral XI, and read his name out “Eleven Jinping”, according to Quartz.
The blunder occurred late Thursday night in a report by India`s public broadcaster Doordarshan on President Xi Jinping`s high-profile first state visit to India. After hours of unconfirmed reports, Doordarshan announced Friday afternoon on its official Twitter handle that the anchor in question had been sacked but declined to name them.
“Please Take Note: DD (Doordarshan) News Anchor who mispronounced Chinese President`s name has been disengaged,” the public broadcaster wrote on the microblogging site. Doordarshan chief executive Jawahar Sircar said that steps had been taken to avoid a repeat of such an incident.
The blunder is an embarrassment for the government of India`s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who rolled out the red carpet for Xi, spending his 64th birthday hosting a dinner for the Chinese president in a luxury riverside tent in his home city Ahmedabad.
Bureau Report
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