FAST FACTS : Born: March 31, 1968 (age 53) Beijing China

Yang Lan, (born March 31, 1968, Beijing, China), Chinese businesswoman and television journalist who was considered one of China’s most powerful women in media, known for her on-air work, which often focused on social and cultural issues, and for cofounding Sun Media Group.

The daughter of two professors, Yang in 1990 received a bachelor’s degree in the English language from Beijing Foreign Studies University. That same year she was chosen from among 1,000 applicants as the winner of the open audition at China Central Television—China’s only nationwide television network—which secured her a position with the weekly Zheng Da Variety Show, China’s top-rated talk show from 1990 to 1993. As cohost of the show, Yang focused attention on such issues as the economic tensions among families in China’s growing middle class, avoiding the sensationalism and steamy revelations that she said characterized American talk shows. She did not seem to chafe under the programmatic control of her government employers, Chinese state television, and she told Newsweek magazine, “In my personal view, certain censorship is important, since nations have different social and cultural backgrounds. I certainly have enough room to move around in my programs.”

In 1993 Yang was awarded China’s Golden Microphone Award for television hosts. Her efforts landed her a place among the country’s most popular celebrities, and she served as master of ceremonies on many occasions, including the opening ceremony of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 in Beijing.

[ https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/pdf/Beijing%20full%20report%20E.pdf ]

In 1996 Yang was awarded a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University in New York City. She had attracted so little attention to herself that her classmates had no idea of her high profile in the Chinese media.

Upon her return to China in 1996, Yang launched a new documentary show called Yang Lan’s Horizon. It examined the cultural ties between the United States and China, exploring topics such as the parallels between Broadway musicals and jingxi, known in English as Peking opera. At the outset her new program had approximately 200 million viewers. Yang was concerned with the need to improve Chinese television by having it develop more of its own shows and rely less on imports from the United States. While she believed Chinese television could produce good shows to replace the American ones, her hope was to “promote the bond between the two countries, instead of breaking them up.”

From 1998 to 1999 Yang served as creator, executive producer, and anchor for Phoenix Satellite Television. In 1999 she helped establish Sun Media Group, and the following year she cofounded Sun Television Cybernetworks (SunTV), the first satellite channel in Greater China to focus on history and culture. SunTV was a success, and in the ensuing years the group became a media empire. In 2005 Yang founded the Sun Culture Foundation to promote education, raise awareness about poverty, and encourage cultural communication.

Later, Yang Lan met Wu Zheng, a billionaire businessman. Wu Zheng has a round body and a very ordinary appearance. But after he became famous, his grandfather was a famous lawyer in Shanghai, and his father was a professor of psychology. He himself graduated from Fudan University and later studied abroad. With his own efforts, he has a fortune of tens of billions. This moved the lonely Yang Lan very much.

Wu Zheng continued to encourage [her]. He gave Yang Lan a yacht worth 4 million, and confessed to Yang Lan after sprinkling flowers on it. Yang Lan was pleasantly surprised and accepted Wu Zheng, and the two formally met. Not long after, Wu Zheng proposed to Yang Lan affectionately: "In the past, I have been alone, and I want to see the world with you in the future!" Yang Lan had the urge to marry this man.

On October 27, 1995, Yang Lan and Wu Zheng held a low-key wedding in New York.

Yang Lan traveled from Shanghai to New York City to attend graduate school because, she said, her fans back home in China would not have left her alone to study. Oprah Winfrey could sympathize.

Like Ms. Winfrey here, Ms. Yang has been one of her country's most popular television talk-show hosts. Her weekly program, "Zheng Da Variety Show," was the top-rated talk show in China from 1990 to 1993. Unlike Ms. Winfrey, Ms. Yang quit her gig in 1994 to enroll at Columbia University, where she is about to earn a master's degree in international relations.

Two weeks shy of her 28th birthday, Ms. Yang is plotting a return to the small screen when she goes home in June. She is developing a weekly syndicated series, "Yang Lan Horizon," which will be devoted to Western popular culture and the influence that people like Steven Spielberg and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber exert on Chinese culture.

[ NOTE - Spielberg was almost a key director of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And it was, of all people, Yang Lan who was interviewed regarding his pullout .. see article below from IndiaTimes. Also, Yang Lan had interviews of Andrew Lloyd Weber on her show. ]

With her polished manner, telegenic looks, and razor-sharp grasp of the economics of show business, Ms. Yang is emblematic of a new generation of Chinese who are taking the first steps toward transforming Chinese television from a creaky, Government-controlled public utility into a more entrepreneurial American-style business.

With the support of her new husband, [Bruno Wu (born 1966)], a Shanghai television entrepreneur, and a little help from a well-financed former music executive, Robert J. Morgado, Ms. Yang even hopes to develop and star in programs that would be broadcast in the United States -- reversing, if only slightly, the tide of American television that flows into Asia.

"I'm only getting started," Ms. Yang said over lunch recently at Tang Pavilion, a Shanghai-style restaurant in Manhattan, "but I want to start early."

As a television personality, Ms. Yang has already shown her ability to appeal to a mass audience. Now, she and her husband are using Western-style business practices in an effort to make Ms. Yang a one-woman television franchise in China.

By Hollywood standards, Ms. Yang is already a major star. She was selected to host "Zheng Da" in an open audition at the age of 22, while still a senior at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.

The program, which Ms. Yang described as a cross between "Good Morning America" and "Donahue," became an instant sensation: Its frothy mix of interviews with Chinese celebrities and games involving a studio audience routinely drew the highest ratings of any program on Chinese Central Television, the Government-owned national network.

Ms. Yang, who carried on a spirited repartee with her older, male co-host, Zhao Zhong-Xian [See Zhao Zhongxiang (born 1942)], also became a favorite of Chinese Government officials, who asked her to act as a host at various events, including the United Nations women's conference in Beijing last September. [This would be in the year 1995].

By the age of 25, though, she felt burned out. Ms. Yang, who is a native of Beijing and whose father is a professor of linguistics at her old university, said she wanted to attend graduate school to gain the intellectual resources to tackle more serious topics on television.

At Columbia, Ms. Yang has been in the International Media Communications program, which is part of the School of Public and International Affairs. To hone her skills as a journalist, Ms. Yang also took classes in reporting and writing at the Graduate School of Journalism.

Donald H. Johnston, a Columbia professor and the director of the media communications program, recalls the day that Ms. Yang came as a prospective student for an interview. "She knocked me over because she was dressed like someone from Fifth Avenue, and she was as poised as anyone who ever came out of American television," he said.

Ms. Yang's academic pursuits faithfully reflect her professional interests. She said, for example, that she was researching a term paper about American talk shows.

"These shows seem to be very liberal and progressive on the surface," she said in flawless English, "but when you listen to the hosts talking, they are actually reinforcing stereotypes about people."

For all her criticism of American talk shows, Ms. Yang studiously avoids controversial issues as they apply to her country. She describes herself as basically apolitical and said that in her new series she would eschew politics for coverage of cultural issues.

"I'm in a position to do something beyond ideology," she said.

Ms. Yang met Mr. Wu at a lunch with friends in New York last year. They were married in October in a lavish ceremony at the Plaza Hotel -- and have forged a partnership that may prove as important to her professional future as anything she learned in graduate school.

Mr. Wu, who is 29, owns a syndication company that distributes American and Australian programs to Chinese stations. His big break came in late 1993 when Time Warner's music division signed a deal with his company, Youban Entertainment Group, to distribute a music-video program called "Warner Music Stars" on Chinese television.

Mr. Morgado, who was then the chairman of Warner Music Group, played a key role in negotiating the deal. And when Mr. Morgado started a firm this year to invest in small overseas media companies, his first move was to acquire Warner's minority stake in Mr. Wu's company. Mr. Morgado has pledged to invest further in Youban, and Youban is helping to finance Ms. Yang's series.

Mr. Wu said his company had syndicated "Yang Lan Horizon" to 51 regional and municipal television channels in China, which reach about 80 percent of the nation's 200 million television households.

For now, China is still dominated by Government-controlled broadcasters: Chinese Central Television, with its five channels; 30 regional networks based in the provinces; and more than 700 local channels operated by the major cities.

But experts on Asian media said that emergence of cable and satellite television would inexorably expand that market -- and create a keen desire for programs like Ms. Yang's. "Once the change in leadership stabilizes and the Government liberalizes, there will be tremendous new demand," said S.K. Fung, the president of NBC Asia.

Those are big uncertainties, of course. But Ms. Yang means to be ready in any event. She has returned to China during each break in classes to tape specials. "I keep appearing on the TV so they won't forget me," she said with an easy laugh, sounding for all the world like Oprah.

Who is "Donald H. Johnston" ?

Robert Morgado, former chairman of Time Warner Inc.'s music group, was sued for $40 million on claims that he reneged on a Chinese entertainment venture and slandered a popular TV host. The suit filed in New York State Supreme Court by Lan Yang Wu, host of the popular “Lan Yang Horizon” Chinese TV show, and other plaintiffs, accuses Morgado of breach of contract and slander in connection with a deal for the venture. The suit also names Morgado’s Maroley Communications and Youban Entertainment Group Inc. companies. Morgado declined to comment. According to the suit, Warner Music in January 1995 bought a 50% stake in the TV firm that produced “Lan Yang Horizon” and “Warner Music Stars” shows. Morgado, fired as head of Warner Music in May 1995, agreed to take over Warner’s investment in the Chinese entertainment company in February, the suit says. Lan Yang and the other plaintiffs say Morgado breached his fiduciary duties and their contract by not providing promised investments, by forming Youban Entertainment Group on his own and by trying to set up competing Chinese music businesses. The suit also seeks punitive damages.

When a clutch of high-powered advertising executives gathered last month for a sales presentation at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, the setting was significant for one reason: The host was satellite-TV channel Phoenix, partly owned by News Corp. , once considered vilified in China.

Throwing the party in a building that houses China's national legislature was a clear sign that News Corp.'s frosty relations with China are thawing. They chilled in 1993, when Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch proudly noted that satellite TV could effectively undermine totalitarian regimes.

Since then, News Corp. has engineered a covert comeback in China that relies heavily on reversing its rhetoric, working closely with cable operators and sometimes making big concessions to get on Beijing's good side. The comeback has been slow and quiet as the usually bombastic Mr. Murdoch and his China team try to understand instead of incite China. For example, instead of going it alone in China, News Corp. last year set up a joint-venture company with Chinese partners to run Phoenix, in hopes of reviving its China prospects.

Overtures to Murdoch

That won't be easy. China remains a tightly controlled media market, and is grappling with how to open its economy but still maintain social and political control over its people. Nevertheless, China has made warmer overtures to Mr. Murdoch. He made the rounds at Hong Kong's July handover to Chinese sovereignty as a guest of the territory's new chief executive, Tung Chee Hwa.

Mr. Murdoch's machinations may pay off, however. Hong Kong-based Phoenix, 45%-owned by News Corp.'s Star TV unit and part-owned by companies with ties to the mainland, claims a potential viewership in China of more than 36 million homes, including what Star calls "official" status on cable systems in Guangdong province. It also is drawing in advertisers from mainland firms to multinational brands such BMW, Citibank and Diet Coke.

That puts News Corp. "in a position in China that any international broadcaster would love," says John Wong of Boston Consulting Group International Inc., who advises media companies in China. Indeed, News Corp. and just a handful of international media companies includingViacom Inc.'s MTV Asia have made inroads in China. Big players Walt Disney Co., Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Inc. and Sony Corp. are getting a cooler reception in China; their movie divisions have rolled out films such as "Seven Years in Tibet" that have raised Beijing's ire.

Their problems recall Mr. Murdoch's after he declared that advances in telecommunications have "proved an unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere." Controlling the damage from that statement was News Corp.'s first step in getting back in China's good graces. "There's no use bullying your way into a deal. That has taken us a long time to figure out," says Star's chief executive officer, Gary Davey. He says the Hong Kong-based company has done a "lot of work at the political level in China." He says he travels into China about 20 times a year. Mr. Murdoch also makes frequent trips.

Ads Flow In

News Corp. has done more than talk. It dropped British Broadcasting Corp.'s channel from the Star platform, after China objected to a BBC program on Mao Tse-tung. And a News Corp. unit published a flattering biography of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, written by his daughter Deng Rong. Another daughter, Deng Lin, was among the 400 guests who showed up at Phoenix's sales presentation in the Great Hall.

But Mr. Murdoch's most important move was creating Phoenix. This year at the Great Hall sales event, industry sources say, ad executives from domestic and international companies pledged to buy up to $34 million of air time on the channel. That's double pledges made in 1996. Peggy Lam, vice president for Phoenix advertising sales at Star, says $4 million already has come in. She declined to confirm the pledge figures.

Phoenix's success is attributable to how far Mr. Murdoch and News Corp. stay out of the business. Says a former Phoenix executive: "We never mention Star or News Corp. Phoenix is meant to be seen as a channel controlled by Chinese." Phoenix's chairman and chief executive officer is Liu Chang Le, a Singaporean businessman associated with Asia's Today Ltd., a media company that owns 45% of Phoenix and which published an eight-volume pictorial on China. The other 10% of Phoenix is owned by China Wise International Ltd., an international sales and advertising agency for China TV stations.

Partners Control Programming

Phoenix's programming also is controlled by the Chinese partners, says the former Phoenix executive. "It's all supposed to be positive and avoid political issues," the executive adds. Although it runs "NYPD Blue," a police drama from the U.S., on prime time on Sunday, a significant portion of the programs are localized and relatively innocuous, including "Perfect Match," a takeoff of dating game programs. One new show, which Phoenix's Ms. Lam says BMW and Motorola have signed up to advertise on, features Chinese TV personality Yang Lan. "The show's about Chinese culture, society and the economy," Ms. Lam says, adding that "Ms. Yang will offer different perspectives as well, from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the U.S."

Mr. Davey dismisses charges that Phoenix doesn't air challenging programs. He points out that during the Hong Kong handover, Phoenix aired the British part of ceremonies while the country's national broadcaster China Central Television didn't. "That does prove our credentials," he says. An audience survey conducted by China Mainland Marketing Research Co. last year for Phoenix showed that 28% of viewers watched Phoenix to find out about Hong Kong and Taiwan.

But despite its growing access in China, News Corp. can't soften China's stance on one crucial issue. It remains technically illegal for the country's approximately 1,200 cable operators to beam foreign broadcasting to an estimated 55 million cable homes. In early September, Chinese newspapers began reporting that Phoenix had official status on some of Guangdong's cable systems. Even Star's Mr. Davey talks about the "official" status. Industry sources say Phoenix has licensing agreements with cable operators, enabling the channel to claim "official" status on systems serving about 2.5 million homes.

Acknowledged distribution through cable systems is important because it makes it easier for Phoenix to confirm the number of households it reaches. Although Phoenix claims to reach more than 36 million homes in China, it reaches that number by counting the number of Chinese homes that can potentially receive the Phoenix signal off a satellite.

Official View

But ask the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television what its opinion is and there's a radically different view. The ministry "has never approved the broadcasting of the Phoenix Chinese Channel on either television stations or cable stations," states a written response from Ministry official Wei Zhangjua in response to questions from this newspaper.

Industry analyst Mr. Wong says the gap between rules and practice is a sign that China is "going through a period of examination. The Chinese aren't going to change the regulations, but they'll let things go and let it become de facto regulation," he says.

A source close to Star's situation in China says that while Chinese authorities still seek some control over foreign TV broadcasts, they are now more comfortable with the idea of foreign access to media. That's in sharp contrast to "two years ago when [China] was a closed shop" as far as Mr. Murdoch was concerned, the person adds.

For now, News Corp.'s quiet move into cable systems hasn't ignited interest in Beijing. But Mr. Wong warns "broadcasters have to keep in China's good graces because it can and will clamp down if anyone touches a button authorities see as possibly sparking unrest."

—S. Karene Witcher contributed to this article.

SHANGHAI, China -- When Rupert Murdoch's Star TV staged a music-awards ceremony here earlier this year, it went out of its way to please everyone. For fans, there were the glittering stars of Chinese popular music. For bureaucrats, a measure of control: They could vet all the pop stars' costumes. Baseball caps and sunglasses were banned as disrespectful of authority.

With just such a mixture of cash, flash and flattery of authorities, Mr. Murdoch has been moving patiently toward becoming the first foreign media mogul to make money in China. His Phoenix Satellite Television Co., an affiliate of News Corp., far outstrips any foreign channel in reach, primarily among China's upscale urban viewers. That's attracted a blue-chip base of advertisers and helped push ad sales up more than 40% a year.

Its popularity reflects a paradox: Most Chinese people are officially barred from receiving foreign satellite broadcasts, but millions do so anyway. Beijing cannot prevent Phoenix, a 45%-owned affiliate of News Corp.'s Hong-Kong-based Star TV, from sending its satellite signal from Hong Kong. The government does occasionally crack down, however. This month, for example, an article in the state press reminded people that receiving foreign satellite broadcasts is illegal.

Some in the industry say the measure is aimed at programming originating in Taiwan, or may be timed to next month's 10th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations. Whatever its intent -- and Beijing has explained nothing -- it could hurt Phoenix's advertising sales over the next few months.

Yet that doesn't trouble Phoenix executives, who say the network's success lies where it always has: going local, faster and further than anyone else. Before the crackdown, Murdoch's station could reach 130 million viewers, the equivalent of half the U.S. population. Even with the new restrictions, Phoenix is still the only real competition to Chinese state television.

'Unambiguous Threat'

That a Murdoch-run business here is surviving, let alone thriving, is a victory of marketing over memory, and a reminder that the company has ridden out the twists and turns of state policy before. Soon after Mr. Murdoch bought Star TV from Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing in 1993, he infuriated Beijing by calling satellite TV "an unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere." China banned private ownership of satellite dishes, casting Star TV into a black hole in the region's biggest potential market.

Seeing the danger, Murdoch-controlled companies cut ties to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, the British Broadcasting Corp. and publication of a book by ex-Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten, all of which were seen as critical of China.

But more than politics has brought Mr. Murdoch success. His business model works. In Guangdong, the country's wealthiest province, ad sales at three-year-old Phoenix may approach those of the provincial-government channel. Its stylish shows and celebrity anchors are a must-see for a growing middle class fed on, and increasingly fed up with, a diet of state-run broadcasting.

In a country where the media have been guided to spread the ruling Communist Party's ideology, Mr. Murdoch's presence may signal the most revolutionary idea of all: Media can be a business like any other.

That's a message China may be ready to hear. In December, Mr. Murdoch met with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, a front-page event in the state press and a huge reversal of his earlier status in China. Star TV staffers jest that Mr. Murdoch takes his enthusiasm for China personally: He has a Chinese girlfriend, Wendy Deng, whom he met while she was a Star TV staffer.

Phoenix was born in 1996, when Star TV joined with two Hong Kong firms with strong mainland ties, Today's Asia Ltd. and China Wise International Ltd., to build a $60 million-a-year Chinese-language network from scratch. They produced or purchased talk shows, variety programs and soap operas, a lineup that has proved popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan. And they wooed Chinese advertisers with glitz and discounts unheard of in a market monopolized by stodgy state networks.

Popular shows on Phoenix include 'Sally's Eye on the World' with Sally Wu (top); 'Yang Lan Studio' with the hostess interviewing film director Chen Kaige (center); and 'Phoenix Tonight,' with Jessey Meng and artist William So.

Other media giants, like Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner Inc., meanwhile, have stuck to smaller-scale efforts while waiting for Beijing to officially open the market. Most sell programs produced in their home markets and dubbed or subtitled into Chinese, tagging them immediately as foreign offerings that lack the mass appeal of shows tailored specifically to China.

"A lot of multinationals try to keep the China market at a distance," says Peggy Lam, who runs China ad sales for Phoenix and Star. She doesn't, charging into the lounge at a Beijing hotel and demanding of the waitress, "How come you're not watching Phoenix TV?"

Ironically, Mr. Murdoch's capitalist incursions are founded on a central tenet of communist ideology: Television is for the masses. A 1950s-era Five-Year Plan sought to spread TV's reach and bring all China within range of its propaganda. Today, China has about 1,000 cable operators with penetration reaching 85% in some cities. State enterprises wired workers' housing compounds for closed-circuit TV. Many of these networks now aim their satellite dishes at Phoenix, which lets anyone pull down its programs free of charge.

It's a perilous business. According to a 1993 cabinet directive, foreign satellite broadcasts are restricted to foreigners' compounds and high-level government entities. But as with so much in China, a lot happens outside of what the state decrees, and periodic crackdowns typically peter out after several months. Across urban China, the rooftops of apartment buildings sprout satellite dishes. Even with the latest tightening, which has led some local cable operators to cut foreign broadcasts and seen police raids on unlicensed sellers of satellite dishes, it's doubtful Beijing can police a vast country in which 85% of households own a TV set.

'Followed Suit'

A visit to Beijing University makes that clear. In October, China's most elite school began airing Phoenix on a closed-circuit network that reaches more than 30,000 students and faculty. Says Tan Zhiguo, who monitors the network from a single dingy room, "All the other universities were showing it, so we just followed suit." Asked how he plans to get approval given the latest crackdown, he says airily, "That's not my responsibility."

Replicated at state enterprises and housing complexes across China, such networks help Phoenix change Chinese television. Its anchors have a large following; onlookers were agape when dour Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji gushed over bubbly Phoenix hostess Sally Wu at a press conference last year. One late-night program, "Secret Files," showcases unsolved mysteries and grisly murders from real life, often with salacious details and shots of victims. A dating-game show, "Perfect Match," unnerves guests with embarrassing questions and has spawned two look-alikes on rival networks. Such flash and irreverence contrast with state television, which favors footage of cadres attending state events and staid reports that present a progressive, peaceful China for mass consumption.

While hardly subversive, Phoenix shows touch on subjects state networks mostly avoid. A recent episode of "Behind the Headlines With Wen Tao," a popular talk show, discussed the legality of police eavesdropping on mobile phones; the chatter ranged from phone-tapping tactics to the likelihood that illicit love affairs would be thus exposed. "Good Morning China" features a presenter reading from Hong Kong and Taiwan newspapers, touching on potentially sensitive issues that state networks would not. But executives are open about toeing the party line when needed.

"If a particular issue is taboo, there's no point in knocking someone over the head with it," says N.K. Leung, the network's deputy chief executive.

While Phoenix executives acknowledge their programs aren't high-minded, the fact is that for people fed on a lifetime of state TV, anything is better. "I like their news shows," says Wang Hongbin, a 35-year-old scientist. "It is more candid and objective than domestic channels."

Phoenix wooed and won advertisers, too. Nokia Corp., the Finnish maker of mobile phones, and Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., China's leading TV manufacturer, are among the advertisers hawking their wares to Phoenix's upscale audience. Ad prices are about one-tenth those of state-run China Central Television, with discounts for bulk buyers. Phoenix executives say they expect to make a profit by 2001.

The company still faces pitfalls. The next few months could see some advertisers desert, as the crackdown shadows Phoenix's promises to deliver viewers. The network's inability to provide numbers of actual viewers, rather than its channels' potential reach, keeps some advertisers away. And competition from innovative programs on local networks is also rising.

Then there's always politics. Says Eric Li, a director at consultancy Claydon Gescher Associates in Beijing, "If you say one bad thing about China, it's the kiss of death."

Ask Liu Chang Le whether he aspires to be the Ted Turner of China, and he laughs. But the analogy seems apt.

On Jan. 1, Mr. Liu's company, Phoenix Satellite Television, started the first 24-hour Chinese-language news channel, beamed from Hong Kong into mainland China by satellite. With its spartan resources and soaring ambitions, the Phoenix Info News channel looks and feels like a Chinese CNN.

Perhaps Mr. Liu finds the comparison to Mr. Turner droll because his partner is Rupert Murdoch, who helped start the original Phoenix Chinese Channel in 1996 and who is Mr. Turner's nemesis. More likely, Mr. Liu knows that life as a media baron in China is rather different than in Atlanta.

In 1999, the Chinese Channel came within an eyelash of losing its distribution, when the mainland authorities tried to clamp down on the illegal reception of foreign broadcast signals. It wriggled its way back into favor by covering NATO's errant bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade with a patriotic fervor that surpassed even the hardest of hard-line Communist news organs.

''You have to strike a balance between freedom of the press and the market,'' said Mr. Liu, a large, cocksure man who was once a soldier in the People's Liberation Army and has worked as an announcer for the Central People's Radio Station.

The market in this case is both the Chinese television audience, which hungers for information, and the Chinese government, which regards certain kinds of information as a threat to national security.

For five years, Mr. Liu has walked a fine line -- offering the 42 million homes that can receive Phoenix an informative daily news program that does not offend Beijing. Now he must do it around the clock.

''It's a difficult task,'' said Yang Lan, a former program host at Phoenix who left to start her own television company. ''The political risk is higher with news than with any other kind of programming.''

Mr. Liu, 48, cultivates close ties to the leaders in Beijing. That and his years at a state-run radio station have given him a fingertip feel for the sensitivities of the government. Mr. Liu has developed a policy for juggling the hand grenades that the news occasionally presents.

''For something that is very, very sensitive, we may not say anything,'' he said. ''But at least we will not lie.''

That is hardly a credo in the tradition of Edward R. Murrow. But it is a step forward for China, where the official broadcaster, China Central Television, still functions as a propaganda arm of the government.

Each time he visits the United States, where he has two daughters in college, Mr. Liu said he is struck by the number of news channels on cable. One of those, Fox News, is owned by Mr. Murdoch, who is Mr. Liu's partner through the News Corporation's Asian satellite TV operation, Star.

Star and Mr. Liu began the Phoenix Chinese Channel as a joint venture in 1996. The company, which is based in Hong Kong, has since added a movie channel and Chinese-language channels aimed at Europe and North America, in addition to the news channel. Because Hong Kong is a separate legal jurisdiction from the mainland, Phoenix is considered a foreign broadcaster under Chinese law.

Today, Mr. Liu and Star each own 38.25 percent of Phoenix, though people at Star say Mr. Murdoch plays little role in it. The Bank of China owns 8.5 percent, while the remaining 15 percent is owned by the public.

Phoenix was listed on Hong Kong's equivalent of the Nasdaq last June. The stock has doubled in value since then, as investors have been beguiled by China's huge television market and the channel's fast-growing advertising revenue.

''Phoenix is really the only pure China play in the media business,'' said Andrew K. Collier, an analyst at Bear, Stearns in Hong Kong. ''Advertisers also feel that it is a good way to reach the China market.''

The flagship Phoenix Chinese Channel offers a frothy mix of movies, sports, game shows, news and documentaries. It favors attractive female on-air hosts, several of whom come from Taiwan.

One of its stars, Wu Xiaoli, became a celebrity in China in 1998 when she told Prime Minister Zhu Rongji at a news conference that he was her idol. Mainland journalists would never address their leaders in such a flip tone. But Mr. Zhu seemed tickled, replying that he was a fan of her program.

That bit of badinage cemented Phoenix's reputation as a channel that gets away with things. Mr. Liu has continued to test the limits of Beijing's tolerance. Last year, Phoenix covered the election in Taiwan, even though China played down the exercise in what it regards as a breakaway province.

Phoenix also carried the inauguration address of Taiwan's president, Chen Shui-bian. Beijing regards Mr. Chen, an erstwhile pro-independence leader, with such distaste that the state media do not mention his name.

Last week, Phoenix covered Mr. Chen's opening of direct trading links between the islands of Quemoy and Matsu and China. Taking their cue from Beijing, the mainland media largely ignored the announcement.

Yet Phoenix's boldness has limits. The channel has been sparing in its coverage of Falun Gong, the meditation sect that has been outlawed in China but whose members regularly protest in Tiananmen Square. Mr. Liu said Phoenix had assigned a reporter to ''get inside'' Falun Gong. But he said it was easy for news organizations to overdo coverage of the sect's activities.

''We have to consider that for people who don't believe in Falun Gong, they might find it really annoying,'' Mr. Liu said.

Having said that, he added that the channel would cover a conference of Falun Gong members in Hong Kong planned for Jan. 14.

The fine line that Phoenix must walk is underscored by the terminology it uses. The channel does not call its news programs ''xinwen,'' the Chinese word for news. Instead it refers to them as information programs. Similarly, the new channel is called Info News, rather than simply news.

''They push the envelope,'' said an executive at Star, ''but then to make up for it, they become more patriotic than Jiang Zemin when the situation demands it.''

Politics aside, Mr. Liu's challenges are the same ones Mr. Turner faced in starting CNN two decades ago. He must build a global news network on a shoestring: $25 million in the first year. Phoenix has opened bureaus in eight cities, including New York, and has built an up-to-date studio in Hong Kong.

Mr. Liu must also figure out the programming mix. Initially, the channel will cover both general and business news. If it is successful, Mr. Liu said, he would spin off a separate CNBC-like channel.

First, though, Phoenix Info News must stand out in a cluttered and increasingly sophisticated Chinese market. Even the successful Chinese Channel has struggled to gain ratings. Despite its potential audience of 42 million homes, the channel's actual ratings are far lower, perhaps no more than 250,000 homes. New domestic stations could erode those already-modest numbers.

And Phoenix is still vulnerable to being removed from the air. Under Chinese law, cable operators are not allowed to retransmit foreign satellite signals. That is how most viewers receive Phoenix. Though analysts think Mr. Liu's political connections will protect him, he is operating in a gray area.

Despite all this, Mr. Liu brims with confidence. He contends that it would be hard to shut Phoenix down even if Beijing were so inclined. He notes that unlike the early CNN, Phoenix is an established brand in China. That means it has anchors, reporters and news crews on its staff who can do double duty.

''When Ted Turner started CNN, he had to start from scratch,'' Mr. Liu said. ''We're making two dishes out of the same chicken.''

Day 1 — Our first day in Tokyo began with a luncheon at the U.S. Embassy, hosted by Minister of Public Affairs Hugh Hara. Dean Anderson addressed a small group on the Middle East, her area of expertise, and invited questions from the audience.

Our next two meetings were with Columbia alumni: Yasushi Akashi, ’94, the former deputy general of the United Nations, and current chairman of Japan Centre for Preventive Diplomacy, and Richard Mei, ’85, director of communications, Pacific Region at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers Co., Ltd.

The day ended with a dinner meeting with the leaders of the Japan Alumni Association (JAA), Yuji Takana, ’98, Steven Greenberg, ’98 and Akiko Oi, ’00. We savored Japanese cuisine and talked about ways SIPA can provide increased support to the alumni association.

Day 2 — After a breakfast meeting at Yebisu Garden Place with Yasuko Hata, ’87, vice president, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, we toured her offices and were introduced to Takafumi Kagiyama, managing director, with whom we hope to explore internships for SIPA students.

From there, we were off to Waseda University in Shinjuku-ku. After a tour of the Center for Scholarly Information, the University’s central library, we met with Mana Nabeshima, ’91, private wealth manager at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Japan.

Before the evening’s alumni reception, the dean had back-to-back interviews with Noburu Okabe, ’94, from the Sankei Shimbun and Kenji Kato with the Daily Yomuiri.

The alumni reception at the International House of Japan was well attended and a great success. With special guest speaker, Professor Makoto Tuniguichi of Waseda University, Dean Anderson welcomed close to 60 alumni guests and gave a state-of-the-school address followed by remarks from Richard Mei, ’85.

Steven Greenberg, ’98 served as an excellent master of ceremonies and translator for Kyoko Komatsuzawa from Television Tokyo Channel 12, Ltd., who spoke about her friend and fellow SIPA graduate, Hitomi Kuwa. Her emotional remembrances of Ms. Kuwa, who passed away only weeks before our trip to Japan, was a touching tribute to a valued member of the SIPA community. It seemed fitting to announce JAA’s desire to establish an endowed fellowship fund in Hitomi Kuwa’s memory. (For more information on the fellowship, see page 27.)

In closing the evening, Yuji Takana, ’98, past chair of JAA, was thanked for his commitment to the association and Aikiko Oi, ’00 was introduced as the new chair of JAA.

Day 3 — We met Hiroo Mori, managing director, Mori Building Co. and his team for breakfast and a tour of the Academy Hills facility to continue discussions on distance learning opportunities, begun a week earlier when Mr. Mori and his team were in the United States.

At Keio University we were welcomed by Professor Taizo Yakushiji, vice president of academic and international affairs and Professor Takeshi Yukawa, executive vice president and professor of history. Takako Hikotani, a Columbia Ph.D. and a Keio alumna, who is currently teaching at the East Asian Institute, was our guide and contributed to a wonderful visit.

Next stop was the Capitol Tokyo Hotel for a public talk by Dean Anderson, entitled “Next Generation Leadership in the Middle East,” hosted by IIPS President, Mr. Okawara.

Immediately following the dean’s talk we were off to Shanghai. We arrived well into the night but found a warm welcome. [Yang Lan (born 1968)], ’96, a SIPA Advisory Board member and our host for the rest of our stay in Asia, and her assistant, Jane Wong, met us at the airport and took us for a brief tour of the Bund, with its impressive skyline, dressed in brilliant displays of blues and greens.

Day 4 — We began by meeting with Charles Haigh, ’80, president of Gilwood Company, Ltd [aka Gilwood Co., Ltd.], a fabric and garment trading company with offices in New York City and Shanghai. Coincidentally, Sun TV (Yang Lan’s business) and Haigh’s business are on different floors in the same building. One inevitable outcome of these trips is to bring alumni together who were unaware of each other.

Haigh then joined us for a tour of [Yang Lan (born 1968)]’s Shanghai Sun TV studio. We learned that Sun is a content provider with plans to produce approximately 300 hours of high quality programs on historical culture for China’s viewing population. In the afternoon, we visited the very peaceful and beautiful Yu Garden, followed by a trip to the “Old City,” filled with buildings of a bygone era. After a full day, we boarded an evening flight with Yang Lan and Jane Wong to Hong Kong.

Day 5 — Over breakfast at the China Club, we met with Daniel Fung [SEE BELOW], a highly regarded attorney who has a sense of the Hong Kong pulse. He advised us to engage local government and arranged a meeting with a leading government official. Next we introduced SIPA to three individuals who have an active interest in advancing education — Johnson Ko, chairman of Universal Appliances, Ltd., Ronnie C. Chan, chairman of the Hang Lung Group and Dr. Fong Yun-Wah, senior managing director of Hip Shing Hong.

[...]

Sina.com, one of China's largest Web site operators, plans to buy 29 percent of the Hong Kong-based broadcaster Sun Television Cybernetworks Holdings Ltd. to broaden distribution of its programs in China.

Sina will pay the talk show host and Sun chairwoman Yang Lan about $14.1 million in cash and new shares for the stake, which would cost about $22.4 million in the open market. Sina may give Yang 2.5 million more shares, depending on Sun's performance.

The woman described as the Oprah Winfrey of China will speak at the UW next Tuesday, May 31, regarding efforts to grow philanthropy in that country. The following day, a graduate student teleconference will continue the conversation.

Yang Lan will deliver this years Severyns-Ravenholt lecture, sponsored by the Department of Political Science. The evening begins at 7 in 210 Kane.

Yang is chairwoman of the Sun Culture Foundation, a China-based nonprofit focusing on education and ways to alleviate poverty. As a leading philanthropist and public figure in China, Yang hosted Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett during their September 2010 meetings with 50 top philanthropists and business leaders in China.

Yang is co-founder of the Sun Media Group and host of the popular Chinese television program, “Yang Lan One-on-One.” On the program, Yang has interviewed such people as former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and basketball star Kobe Bryant. Yang also hosted the closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

She received a bachelors degree from Beijing Foreign Studies University and a masters degree from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

In the 1990s, Yang worked at Chinese Central Television and won the Golden Microphone Award as the nations best television host.

The teleconference will be held Wednesday, June 1 from 7 to 9 p.m. in 317 Thomson Hall. It will bring together participants from the UW Department of Political Science, the Nancy Bell Evans Center, the Mark Lindenberg Center and the Center for Civil Society Studies at Peking University.

Last week, broadcast journalist Yang Lan, who was dubbed by CNN as China’s Oprah, visited the University of Washington to talk about the challenges of philanthropy in China.

Yang, who has 200 to 300 million viewers for her news program, packed the room with more than 600 people. Several people had to be turned away.

Yang, with her husband, started the Sun Culture Foundation in Hong Kong, not in China. She said Hong Kong is more efficient in running philanthropic organizations. In China, there are many restrictions. It’s too early for China to develop philanthropy businesses, she explained.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett were guests on her show last year, trying to persuade millionaires to donate their fortunes to charity.

That is a revolutionary concept for China. Still, there were 50 multimillionaires who showed up at one of Gates’ meetings, said Yang.

China has more than 1,400 billionaires. The majority of Chinese billionaires have gotten their wealth through real estate.

Dining with Yang Lan

UW President Phyllis Wise hosted a dinner for Chinese broadcast journalist Yang Lan at the president’s residence. The conversation among the seven guests at the dinner table was lively and open. Yang did not hold back.

On censorship, she said, “We just have to take it. But there is still a lot of room for free speech.”

A strong advocate for equal rights, Yang said she is one of the advocates attempting to push women’s retirement age from 55 to 60, the same as that of men.

For a glimpse of how Chinese society is changing, Yang gave an example. “Last Oct. 1, there were 9,000 marriage licenses issued in China,” Yang said, “but there were also 5,000 divorces and the majority were initiated by women.”

Despite censorship, Yang said the Internet is making a difference. If people “don’t touch on China’s bottom line” namely, issues on Taiwan, Falun Gong, and Tibet, much of the information will pass through.

She has witnessed many policy changes due to outcry from the Internet. Microbloggers can be so fast that, by the time China moves to block the blog, it’s too late.

Yang shared her story of how she got to where she is today. After getting a bachelor’s degree in English, she earned her master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. She believed that there was opportunity for change, so she returned to China after graduation.

Out of 1,000 women who applied for her job two decades ago, Yang was picked after seven rounds of interviews. No such show connecting Beijing to the rest of the world was ever produced before. When the first program aired, “there was no script,” she said.

Though bureaucracy and censorship are ingrained into China’s system, China is also toying with many new ideas and projects to advance the country. Younger leaders like Yang can push through diverse perspectives and influence the public. ♦

NEW YORK and BEIJING, Sept. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Bloomberg and the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE) today released a preliminary speaker and participant list for the 2019 New Economy Forum, to be held in Beijingon November 20 - 22. Nearly 500 of the world's most influential business executives, technology innovators, government officials, experts and academics from more than 60 countries and regions will come together to propose solutions to the massive disruption that's occurring, as the balance of economic power shifts towards the Asia Pacific.

"We are assembling a world-class community of global leaders from new economy nations, including the most influential titans in business and finance from China, India, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East," said Justin B. Smith, CEO of Bloomberg Media. "This unique community has a common vision: to apply their expertise and perspective to tackle the world's most critical challenges, deliver concrete solutions and build a pathway to progress."

Launched in 2018 by Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Three-Term Mayor of New York City, the New Economy Forum was founded on the belief that the global economy stands on the threshold of immense opportunity, powered by China, India and other rising countries, as well as emerging technologies like 5G networks and artificial intelligence. In addition to these opportunities, the new economy has also created numerous challenges. The forum provides a unique platform for business and government leaders to discuss these issues, propose solutions, and work together towards economic growth that is both sustainable and inclusive.

Following the 2018 New Economy Forum, at which Wang Qishan, Vice President of the People's Republic of China, delivered a keynote address, this year's event will also feature a lineup of top government leaders. The forum will include keynote speeches,plenary and breakout sessions on a variety of topics such as global economic governance, trade, technology, finance and capital markets, climate change, urbanization and inclusion.

Current speakers and participants in the 2019 New Economy Forum include:

• Michael R. Bloomberg -- Founder and CEO, Bloomberg LP

• Dr. Henry A. Kissinger -- Former U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor

• Henry M. Paulson Jr. -- Former U.S. Treasury Secretary; Chairman, Paulson Institute

• Zeng Peiyan -- Former Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China; Chairman, CCIEE

• ...

• Bill Gates -

....

• Yang Lan -- Chairman, Sun Media Group

....

Walter Ian Lipkin, professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, known as a “virus hunter,” revealed in an interview on Fox Business Network that he has tested positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus on March 24.

Lipkin is the director of Columbia University’s Center for Infection and Immunity, and has earned the reputation of a “virus hunter” for his efficiency and innovative methods of identifying new viruses. In the past 30 years, he has been involved in the epidemic control of almost all major contagions in the world, including West Nile virus and SARS. In addition, he has discovered and identified more than 800 viruses causing human, wildlife or domestic animal diseases.

Lipkin’s friendship with the Chinese communist regime probably started in 2003 when he was invited to visit Beijing during the SARS outbreak. Working closely with a team in Beijing headed by then Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Chen Zhu, Lipkin and Chinese medical scientists developed a strategy to combat SARS. He also gifted 10,000 SARS test kits to China.

Subsequently, Lipkin assisted China in setting up disease research institutions such as Institut Pasteur of Shanghai (IPS) and Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health. In May 2013, he went to Beijing again and signed a contract with the Virology Institute of China’s Center for Disease Control, to build a collaboration lab for pathogen research. All investment for this project came from the Chinese authorities.

Chinese state media often praise Lipkin for having made “great contribution” to China in the past ten years. In 2015, he was among one of the seven foreign recipients of China’s International Science and Technology Cooperation Award.

Has Lipkin procured any personal gains from the over ten years of “contribution?” Although there is no clear evidence on that, his statement after the CCP virus outbreak is telling the world that he certainly has an intimate tie with the CCP.

Lipkin was in China from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4, and met with high-ranking officials as well as top medical experts, including China’s chief coronavirus consultant Zhong Nanshan. Nonetheless, he did not go to Wuhan, the epicenter of the CCP virus.

On Feb. 24, Lipkin accepted an interview by Yang Lan, a famous TV hostess in China, and made a key statement in support of the Chinese authorities with regard to the origin of the CCP virus.

“What my colleagues and I think happened was that this virus was existing in a bat, probably came into contact with an animal, perhaps in a wild animal market, perhaps an infected human,” he said.

“We don’t think there’s any evidence that this virus was created in the Wuhan Institute of Virology or released accidentally. We think it emerged in nature. It’s a natural problem. And we need to address it as a naturally occurring virus.”

Dr. Lyons-Weiler, the founder and CEO of the Institute for Pure and Applied Knowledge (IPAK), published an article on Jan. 31 stating that medical research found evidence that might suggest the CCP virus could come out from a laboratory-induced event.

He said that “the available evidence most strongly supports that the 2019-NCoV virus is a vaccine strain of coronavirus either accidentally released from a laboratory accident, perhaps a laboratory researcher becoming infected with the virus while conducting animal experiments, or the Chinese were performing clinical studies of a coronavirus vaccine in humans.”

During the interview with Yang on Feb. 24, Lipkin did not provide any scientific evidence or argument to refute Lyon-Weiler’s statement.

In 1995, 27-year-old Yang Lan went to the United States alone to work hard. Those years were not pleasant. Her landlord is a very demanding woman.

She stipulates that Yang Lan must turn off the lights before twelve o'clock every day; each time she uses the bathroom for only ten minutes, and she must dress neatly when she comes out; she is not allowed to use her kitchen for Chinese food, and she must wear lipstick when there are guests visiting.

Once, after washing her hair, Yang Lan sat on the bed and read the newspaper while eating bread.

When the landlord saw it, he rushed forward, grabbed her bread and newspaper, and yelled at her: "You uncultivated Chinese girl! Get out of my house immediately."

At that time, Yang Lan became angry from embarrassment and rushed out, feeling injustice and anger in his heart.

But after many years, she was grateful that she had had such an experience, and used it to motivate everyone. The denial of others is not important and cannot deny herself. As long as she stands on the stage, she must have the confidence and confidence that I am the king.

Yang Lan is a successful woman with beauty and wisdom recognized by many people. But in addition to her history of inspirational struggle, several of her love histories also make people talk about it.

Today, let's talk about Yang Lan's story.

In 1968, Yang Lan was born in a family of intellectuals in Beijing. [Her] father is a foreign language professor, and [her] mother is a teacher [at] Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Because of the work of [her] parents, there [was] no way to take care of Yang Lan. So Yang Lan was taken to her grandmother's house since she was a child, and [her grandmother] didn't take her back to Beijing from Shanghai until she was 10 to live with her parents. [This would have been around 1978].

Since childhood, Yang Lan's language talent is extremely high.

In 1986, she was admitted to Beijing Foreign Studies University to study English.

After graduating in 1990, Yang Lan unfortunately encountered difficulties in finding employment.

At that time, the national policy changed and no job assignments were made for college students. The demand for positions in foreign-funded companies has also plummeted, and Yang Lan finally got interview opportunities for two jobs after submitting a resume for a week.

One was the only five-star hotel in Beijing at that time, the other was CCTV, and Yang Lan chose CCTV. Thousands of people interviewed during the same period.

Yang Lan, who is agile and eloquent, is full of confidence, but hit a nail in the first round of interviews.

Compared with the restrained and shyness of other girls, Yang Lan seemed too smart and too individual.

She is not stage fright, expressive, high-spirited, with a little aggressiveness. The result was determined as an unsuitable candidate.

Director Xin Shaoying said: "We want a host who looks good and knows how to cooperate".

This inappropriate sentence did not make Yang Lan flinch. She calmly asked:

"Why can't the hostess be wise? The hostess also needs the opportunity to express herself."

Yang Lan's reaction was beyond everyone's expectations, and her pattern and insights are admirable. So the interviewer gave her the opportunity to participate in the retest.

CCTV interviews not only test knowledge but also test whether the heart is strong.

Yang Lan, who did not have the blessing of good looks, has passed the 6 examinations with a clever mind and on-the-spot reaction. Each round of assessment is not easy, and the interviewer's questions are very tricky.

In the 7th round of interview, Yang Lan was asked bluntly: "Do you dare to appear in a three-point bikini?"

In those days, wearing a three-point style was very bold. And this question is extremely easy to provoke the shame of women. But Yang Lan did not evade.

"Dare to wear it depends on whether the current culture and morals are acceptable. If it is an open foreign country, people there are accustomed to nude swimming. Wearing a three-point style is still a conservative behavior. But in some places, women can't even see their hair. , The three-point formula is definitely not allowed."

Yang Lan's calmness and composure eventually conquered the examiner and was successfully hired by CCTV.

That year, Yang Lan was 22 years old. While getting a job, he also entered into marriage early. The marriage partner was [Zhang Yibing (born 1966)], a long-time alumnus with her .

At that time, Yang Lan's notion of feelings belonged to the smooth flow of the boat. The family is very satisfied with this future son-in-law. [Zhang Yibing (born 1966)] is a down-to-earth man and has an iron job in a bank, and the two are married in this way.

After entering CCTV, Yang Lan partnered with Jiang Kun to host "Zhengda Variety Show" .

But after doing it for a while, because of the poor ratings of the program, Jiang Kun left, leaving Yang Lan alone.

Yang Lan was unwilling to give up the show, so he turned to [Zhao Zhongxiang (born 1942)] for help .

She made soft drinks, served tea and delivered water, and her sincere attitude impressed him, and finally [Zhao Zhongxiang (born 1942)] agreed to do this show with her.

Under the leadership of [Zhao Zhongxiang (born 1942)], "Zhengda Variety Show" has been working for three years, and it has gone from no one to counterattack to the ace of ratings at the time .

At that time, Yang Lan was only 25 years old, and she was very beautiful. Not only did her program have high ratings, she also won the "Golden Microphone Award" for the first host award in China .

Maybe this way is going too fast, it always makes her feel uneasy.

At this time, [ Xie Guomin (born 1939) ... also known as Dhanin Chearavanont (born 1939) ... ] , president of Zhengda Group, suggested that she go abroad for further studies, and he was also willing to sponsor her.

Yang Lan was moved. She persuaded her husband [Zhang Yibing (born 1966)] to give up the domestic achievements. In 1994, [she] went to Columbia University to major in international media.

In order not to make Yang Lan regret, Zhang Yibing supported his wife to study abroad even though he was reluctant to give up.

However, the couple was forced to start to separate in a foreign country, and they could only contact each other by phone. Over time, their feelings were no match for the pain of a different place, and they finally divorced peacefully.

In the United States, Yang Lan also met her second love, and the other party was Fei Xiang, a male god singer who was popular throughout Greater China .

[ Note - "In 1997, Fei Xiang introduced six Broadway musicals as a guest host in the program Yang Lan's vision. " ... https://www.chinawiki.net/thread/74/8680.html ... ]

No one can resist Fei Xiang's charm, and Yang Lan is no exception.

Originally when she was working at CCTV, she had contact with Fei Xiang, and she admired like his fan.

After the two met by chance in the United States, the feeling of being obsessed with girls came back, and the intellectual and connotative Yang Lan was also very different in Fei Xiang's eyes, and the two naturally became together.

But this relationship did not last long.

Because Yang Lan feels that Fei Xiang is a fan's admiration for idols, not a woman's love for men.

So the two broke up and became friends again.

Later, Yang Lan met Wu Zheng (aka [Bruno Wu (born 1966)] ), a billionaire businessman.

Wu Zheng has a round body and a very ordinary appearance. But after he became famous, his grandfather was a famous lawyer in Shanghai, and his father was a professor of psychology.

He himself graduated from Fudan University and later studied abroad. With his own efforts, he has a fortune of tens of billions.

This moved the lonely Yang Lan very much.

Wu Zheng continued to encourage him. He gave Yang Lan a yacht worth 4 million, and confessed to Yang Lan after sprinkling flowers on it.

Yang Lan was pleasantly surprised and accepted Wu Zheng, and the two formally met.

Not long after, Wu Zheng proposed to Yang Lan affectionately: "In the past, I have been alone, and I want to see the world with you in the future!"

Yang Lan had the urge to marry this man.

On October 27, 1995, Yang Lan and Wu Zheng held a low-key wedding in New York.

After getting married, Yang Lan's studies in the United States also ended, and she decided to return to China to start a business.

Without a word, Wu Zheng closed the American company and returned to China with Yang Lan.

In 1998, Yang Lan joined Phoenix Satellite TV and founded "An Interview with Yang Lan".

With his accumulated knowledge and cultivation over the years, Yang Lan interviewed entrepreneurs, elites and even heads of state from all walks of life.

The high-level dialogue and content-based interviews made this program successful, and Yang Lan became one of the representatives of the domestic Kochi hostess.

In 1999, Yang Lan was also named one of the "Twenty Social and Cultural Leaders in Asia". But Yang Lan doesn't stop there.

After the success of the talk show, she left Phoenix TV and founded Sunshine Media Group with her husband Wu Zheng. It also opened the first domestic TV channel "Sunshine TV" with historical and cultural themes.

Yang Lan: The husband who abandoned working in the bank and married a ten billionaire at the age of 27, how is she now?

Yang Lan's value skyrocketed, and at the time he became a dazzling star in Hong Kong's business community with a value of 840 million .

With the help of Wu Zheng, Yang Lan's career is flourishing. Sunshine Media Group, a husband and wife, has also repeatedly been listed as one of Forbes's 300 small companies in the world.

Yang Lan is not only dedicated to his career, but also enthusiastic about charity. The establishment of a foundation to care for children and women has become the envy and admiration of many women.

However, the marriage of Yang Lan and Wu Zheng has always been controversial, and a reporter even asked her straightforwardly:

"Did you marry Wu Zheng because of the money?"

Yang Lan was not angry when she heard that, with her always gentle smile, she replied: "When I first got married, I was too young to understand marriage. Until I met Wu Zheng, I didn't know what love is. I married because of love. he."

Now the two have been married for more than 20 years, and their relationship is happy and stable.

They had a son and a daughter, and Wu Zheng fulfilled his promise and took Yang Lan to see the world.

With Wu Zheng's tolerance and support, Yang Lan can do anything she wants boldly and confidently.

She publishes books, runs shows, and participates in variety shows.

On the program "Listen to Sisters", she "cross-boundary" talked about the talk show, calling for men and women to take maternity leave together, and golden sentences were frequently made.

In the first season of "Sister Riding the Wind and Waves" finals, Yang Lan partnered with Huang Xiaoming to host the performance stage.

As soon as she appeared on the stage, the audience was immediately boiled over. Huang Xiaoming also introduced that this is "the thirty-first priceless sister."

Indeed, "Sister Riding the Wind and Waves" focuses on "30+ Sister's Charm", and Yang Lan can definitely be regarded as the best representative of "Riding the Wind and Waves".

Yang Lan, now 53 years old, still exudes her wisdom in front of the camera. Her independent and exquisite person has become a role model for countless women.

Not everyone can become Yang Lan, but her attitude towards life is worth learning.

Only when you are uncomfortable with your comfort zone, dare to challenge your life, and seize the opportunities and resources around you, can you sculpt a strong inner self.