Usually the media bands together especially when it's under attack, but in China, an incident caused a stir and strong condemnation from fellow journalists.
Different journalists commented negatively over what three paparazzis did when it entered a health care facility and took pictures of Yao Beina, a rising star who recently succumbed to breast cancer.
These three journalists were able to sneak into Peking University Hospital in Shenzhen with a help of a doctor. During this time, Beina was undergoing a cornea removal after she donated them to worthy recipients.
Bo Ning, the pop star's agent, took his outrage to Weibo, China's version of Twitter, by asking if they're human beings for doing it. The family of the late star also worked against the newspaper Shenzhen Evening News from publishing the photos. The publication, meanwhile, has already sent their apologies.
Beina was already a singer when she was discovered to have breast cancer about 4 years ago. She underwent mastectomy and later joined Voice of China where she ended up being second place.
Before her death, she became famous by singing the Chinese version of "Let It Go," the official theme song of Frozen, which is currently one of the top-grossing films of all time.
Aside from mastectomy, she also underwent chemotherapy and cosmetic surgery. However, by December 2014, her cancer returned, and her health worsened rapidly. By January 16, she died. A memorial service was conducted on January 20. She was 33 years old.
Beina, also called Bella Yao, requested before her death to have her corneas donated. One was sent to Chengdu and the other remained in Shenzhen. One of these recipients was 23-year-old Dong who expressed his deep gratitude to Beina's parents and the late singer.
Because of her kindness, many of her fans and the media further fumed at the idea of having her dead body captured in photos without permission.
