Veteran CCTV presenter Jing Yidan dies aged 71

Chinese journalists, broadcasters and viewers are mourning the death of Jing Yidan, a veteran television journalist and presenter remembered for her calm, thoughtful style and decades-long commitment to the integrity of the profession.

Jing, a familiar face to generations of Chinese television viewers, passed away on Sunday at 71 after suffering an acute cerebral hemorrhage in her hometown of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, in June, according to a death notice released by her daughter.

She was later transferred to a hospital in Beijing, where she received treatment until death.

Tributes have poured in from former colleagues and fellow broadcasters. Many remembered Jing not only as a prominent TV host but as a journalist whose restrained reporting, careful questioning and sense of responsibility earned the trust of viewers.

Jing joined China Central Television in 1988 and worked as a reporter, editor and presenter before becoming a broadcast director. Over the span of her career, she hosted influential programs such as Focus Report, Oriental Horizon and News Probe.

She also anchored live coverage of major events, including the handovers of Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions to China. Jing received the China Golden Mic Awards, one of the highest honors for broadcasters in the country, three times. Her most enduring professional legacy was her two decades with Focus Report, a program known for investigative reporting and public-interest journalism.

"I was with Focus Report for 20 years," said Jing in a speech at the 2026 graduation ceremony of Peking University's HSBC Business School in May. Reflecting on her career after retirement, she said the most valuable thing she had done was "to amplify the voices of the vulnerable, spread the voices of the wise and advance the progress of civilization".

Bai Yansong, a longtime colleague and partner on Focus Report, praised Jing's professionalism and he reflected on their 30-year career partnership.

"Jing walked her journey with composure and determination, always smiling and curious as she experienced the seasons," said Bai in a tribute posted online.

Broadcaster Cao Kefan, who received the China Golden Mic Awards in the same year as Jing in 1997, remembered her as warm and considerate in private and exceptionally dedicated to her work. "She devoted herself wholeheartedly to every task," said Cao in a written tribute, adding that the restraint and conscience she demonstrated on screen had long been an example for other presenters.

Former CCTV sports commentator Han Qiaosheng also remembered Jing as calm and rational, highlighting how she used "calm and sincere reporting to record the times".

For many viewers, Jing's programs were a part of everyday life for generations who watched TV around the dinner table. "Oriental Horizon and Focus Report — the programs we loved watching while having dinner when we were children," one commenter wrote on social media. Another described Jing as a journalist who "used integrity to embody the spirit of journalism", adding that her voice and image would remain in viewers' memories.

Jing's daughter said that over the nearly three months from the summer solstice to white dew, her mother received an outpouring of well wishes from people hoping for her speedy recovery.

On June 17, her social media account posted a video of her visiting Cai Lei, a former senior executive who has been living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Jing brought him a bundle of wheat and a copy of his book Believe. Cai wrote on Sunday that they had planned for Jing to host an offline reading event for an expanded edition of the book.

"I never imagined that those warm words would become a farewell," Cai wrote. "I will carry her words with me, continue to 'believe' and continue moving forward."

Shi Shusi, a famous commentator in China, said the tributes to Jing have become a remembrance not only of an individual broadcaster but of a generation of TV journalism in which professionalism, restraint and public trust were central to the craft.

zhaoyimeng@chinadaily.com.cn