"I have been wearing this facial expression all my life. If you believe the expression suggests I am smiling, I can do nothing about it."

Zhu Dali, a community official at the Qijiawan neighborhood committee of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying on Thursday as he defended himself against online criticism. Zhu, 50, was called callous and even cold-blooded when he was caught in a picture "smiling" while handling a child-drowning case last week.