Celebrities should set a good example

ONE DAY AFTER A VIDEO was posted online showing pop icon Wang Yuan smoking in a restaurant in Beijing, he issued an apology on social media, saying that he would bear the responsibility and accept the penalty. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments:

Some argue that Wang is an adult and he has the right to decide whether to smoke. Right, but not indoors in a restaurant, because that's unambiguously banned in Beijing.

As a public figure with as many as 73 million followers of his micro blog, most of whom are minors, Wang might influence their behavior with each of his moves. Just as he said in the open apology letter, he hoped his followers would not copy him by smoking.