On the morning of July 1, CCTV broadcast a live broadcast to celebrate the 225th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China. This made Li Haiming, the former director of the News Department of CCTV Overseas Center, who was enjoying his retirement life at home in Beijing, very excited. 25 years ago, it was he, as the program director, who organized and completed the 72-hour live broadcast of Hong Kong's return. Speaking of this thing that will make him proud for the rest of his life, the floodgates of memories can no longer be closed...
Director Haiming and I are both fellows from Tai'an, Shandong, and good friends. After watching the live broadcast on July 1, the two of us started chatting on WeChat. The content was to look back at the live broadcast 25 years ago.
Some staff who participated in the Century Report were in the studio.
Director Hai Ming first showed me a book "Century Report" edited by him is a book specially edited and published by CCTV to summarize CCTV4 the 72-hour live broadcast report of Hong Kong's return. The book contains about 20 articles written by CCTV leaders from Taiwan to various departments and various types of work. Thousands of words.
The book "Century Report" edited by Li Haiming
faithfully records all aspects of the 72-hour live broadcast of Hong Kong's return to Hong Kong. Director Haiming felt the deepest and most impressed by the following aspects:
A battle for public opinion with the Western media
1997The return of Hong Kong attracted worldwide attention, and Western media were particularly interested. Before Hong Kong's return to the motherland, negative publicity about Hong Kong was overwhelming in the West: Hong Kong was about to change, Hong Kong people were fleeing, the economy was in recession, and so on. In response to the challenge from Western media, CCTV proposed to seize the favorable opportunity of Hong Kong's return to international attention and report positively on the true situation of Hong Kong's return and the central government's policy of "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong". Around July 1st, two sets of programs were organized to be broadcast live for 72 hours. The first program was for internal broadcasts, and the fourth program was for external broadcasts, because at that time the four programs had covered the world.
The program celebrating Hong Kong's return is being filmed
The first program of Hong Kong's return is live broadcast in the news center computer room, and four live broadcasts are in the China News Live Broadcast Computer Room. At that time, Channel 4 already had news ten times a day and was a quasi-news channel. Director Haiming was the director of the fourth news department at the time. CCTV leaders asked the news department to organize the broadcast of this century report and asked him to be the director of the 72-hour live broadcast channel after Hong Kong's return.
accepted this task and he felt a lot of pressure!
Zhao Yuhui (middle), director of CCTV Overseas Center, listens to a report. Li Haiming is on the left.
At that time, the Overseas Center News Department was already well versed in broadcasting news ten times a day, but organizing a 72-hour live broadcast was not easy!
At this difficult moment, CCTV Director Yang Weiguang convened a mobilization meeting for Taiwan's Hong Kong return reporting and arranged two sets of programs to be broadcast live. Taiwan decided to send a strong reporting team, using more than 200 interview and video equipment, more than a dozen broadcast trucks , three aerial photography helicopters, and hundreds of reporters to go to Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area and related important cities in an all-round way. Reporting and live broadcasts return to breaking news, with all programming coming from the front on a common signal, both one and four.
This is a large-scale battle of unprecedented scale!
Director Yang Weiguang is very satisfied with the live broadcast plan
Regarding the fourth set of programs for the outside world, Director Yang Weiguang said: The fourth set is for the outside world. The overseas audience should be regarded as primary school students who know nothing about China, not middle school students, and more Not a college student. Therefore, a lot of instructions and explanations need to be made, the internal programs are re-edited and produced, and background knowledge and charts are added, especially geographical location maps, to make it clear at a glance.
Li Haiming reported the live broadcast plan to Director Yang Weiguang
Director Yang Weiguang is a landmark figure in China's radio and television. He has made outstanding contributions to the development of CCTV. After he succeeded Huang Huiqun as the head of CCTV, the first thing he did for publicity was to establish the Chinese International Channel and China News for the outside world. The China News under his guidance has won honors for the country.
The then head of CCTV Yang Weiguang
The next task they faced was to adapt a large number of CCTV programs in various columns, and to organize a 24-hour broadcast team.
Li Dan, CCTV’s deputy director in charge of external affairs at the time (later promoted to director of International Broadcasting Station) and Zhao Yuhui, director of the overseas center, convened various departments and relevant column teams to quickly implement the program adaptation and other tasks. A race against time began!
International Channel Various types of work are working intensively
Four months and three days
Viewers are very relaxed watching TV, unaware of the complexity and hard work behind the screen, especially large-scale live broadcasts, which are complex system projects. For example, CCTV’s annual Spring Festival Gala requires more than half a year of preparation. Live broadcast for 72 hours for three consecutive days and nights is even more difficult. Not only the content, but also the organization and cooperation of various types of work in the studio, such as host, guest, director, audio and video switching, video playback, subtitle chart preparation, series word writing, front and rear communication, world public opinion feedback, etc., etc. Each type of work must be equipped for at least three shifts. With people, all types of work are gathered together, and it is not easy to practice and practice every second. We queued up and found that just to broadcast this series, 138 people are needed!
CCTV reporters interview in Taiwan
"China News" reporters interview in Canada
The preparation of such a large broadcast team, manpower and material resources, started after the Spring Festival in 1997. It was really in March that they were put into the fast lane. It took them more than four months. time to prepare for the live broadcast for three days and three nights. Afterwards, a colleague said that those few months seemed to be in dire straits and they didn’t know how they survived. All preparations involve working overtime while ensuring daily broadcasts, and it is common to work on programs all night long. Director Haiming recalled that once, Deputy Director Li Dan held a meeting with everyone in the large conference room of the Round Building to study the program. After dinner, he walked out of the conference room after the meeting and looked in the direction of Tiananmen . It was dawn in the east. It was impossible to go home. Everyone went back to the office to lie down for a while, and then started new work at eight o'clock, because many interview tasks were contacted the day before and could not be cancelled.
"China News" reporters Ma Yong and Ren Yongwei interviewed officials stationed in Hong Kong
Various types of work in the computer room must be drilled and must have a program list. The program list was revised 38 times by their director team, because the front and rear programs kept coming, and the front live broadcast was ensured to be switched simultaneously Under the premise of providing a signal, there must be corresponding programs to coordinate with the rear, and news on the hour must be broadcast. This is an organic whole.
In order to ensure safe broadcasting, each broadcasting team has done countless drills. During that time, they generally felt severely sleep deprived. Especially on the third day of the live broadcast, Director Haiming felt numb all over and couldn't open his eyes. He put his head under the tap water pipe and rinsed it with cold water. He pinched his legs with his hands, and there were many tricks ahead. god. He was reminding himself not to make mistakes and not to collapse. After the broadcast, he returned home feeling dizzy while riding his bicycle. He slept from 7pm to 12pm the next day and was still awake. The child who was studying in college at the time was worried that something would happen to him, so he pushed him awake and asked He said: "Dad, are you okay?" He couldn't help but smile.
Director Haiming stayed at the live broadcast.
century report has far-reaching impact.
1997 Hong Kong's return is a prosperous period in China and has far-reaching influence. As a TV broadcast report project, it can be regarded as a century report in the history of CCTV. For this report, CCTV mobilized the entire Taiwan and mobilized manpower and material resources, which was the first in the country at that time. Hundreds of reporters from CCTV conducted a large number of interviews in Hong Kong, across the country and around the world. We interviewed many well-known politicians and entrepreneurs in Hong Kong and overseas, and also invited many celebrities into the studio to use their personal experiences to answer some questions of concern abroad and answer some people's doubts. We have also done a lot of detailed interpretations of Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong. In the face of facts, some rumors in the West are self-defeating.
Deputy Director of the Overseas News Department Yang Gangyi studied the broadcast plan with everyone.
Of course, the climax of the program is the handover ceremony of power. For the four sets of broadcasts, CCTV rented five satellites and multiple transponders to cover the world. Nearly a hundred TV stations around the world broadcast CCTV's four sets of programs. 115 consulates overseas organized overseas Chinese to watch the grand occasion of Hong Kong's return.For the report on Hong Kong's return, CCTV invested more than 1,660 people. CCTV won the live broadcast of Hong Kong's return with an absolute advantage. The grand occasion of Hong Kong's return shocked the world!
Return of the Ceremony Pictures
Return of the Ceremony Pictures
Return of the Ceremony Pictures
Return of the Ceremony Pictures
At the end of the chat, Director Haiming said affectionately: Today, 25 years later, China’s development is no longer the same as it was back then. One channel has grown to dozens of channels, and its influence has been greatly enhanced. As early as ten years ago, a senior leader said that CCTV was the number one media in China. Now, the three central stations form the main station and become a communication aircraft carrier. No matter how it changes, the hard work and pioneering and innovative spirit of the older generation have not changed. This is the heirloom and spiritual pillar of China’s radio and television industry!
A reporter from "China News" interviewed in Beijing
About Director Haiming
Director Haiming is from Xiagang Town, Tai'an, Shandong Province. As a fellow countryman and good friend of mine, he has told me many times: "I came from a poor family. The son of a farmer. I didn’t expect to be able to go to university, join CCTV, and do such an important job. I should thank the country and the party for this!"
Li Haiming taught in his hometown after graduating from high school in 1968, and also worked as a media correspondent for farmers. In 1973, he studied in the Chinese Department of Tai'an Normal College (the predecessor of Taishan College). After graduation in 1975, he was assigned to the News Department of CCTV (later studied as a postgraduate student in the Journalism Department of the Beijing Broadcasting Institute) as an editor and reporter.
Li Haiming in Australia
Director Haiming has successively served as the leader of the CCTV News Network editorial team, deputy director of the News Department, deputy director of the CCTV Fourth Program Editorial Department, and director of the Overseas News Department. He is the author of books such as "News Program Editing and Production", "Foreign News Editing and Production", "Expedition to Antarctica" (co-authored), "Witness: My 35 Years at CCTV".
Li Haiming gave me a book
Director Haiming was named chief editor in 1993 and was promoted to senior editor in 1995. He has successively won honors such as the Advanced Worker of the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television, the First Top 100 Journalists in the Country, and the State Council Special Allowance Expert.
Li Haiming, Director Zhao Huayong (middle), and Deputy Director Zhang Changming (left) discuss the revision of the Taiwan program
Leaders from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council went to investigate the Taiwan program (middle). Deputy Director Zhang Changming is on the left, and host Li Feng is on the right.
Li Haiming on the Yangtze River Flood Resistance Levee (1998)
His main contribution at CCTV was to study news reform, assist in leading the reform of news network, and took the lead in establishing "China News" which was interviewed, produced and arranged according to news rules, and was well received by the industry and audiences at home and abroad. Leaders of the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television said: The four sets of news are in line with international practices and require the news network to learn from the four sets of news. " Cross-Strait ", which he took the lead in revamping and put a lot of effort into, has always been an excellent CCTV program.
Li Haiming interviewed Li Changchun, then Secretary of the Shenyang Municipal Party Committee
Li Haiming accompanied Zhang Qingli, then Secretary of the Tai'an Municipal Party Committee, to visit CCTV
Li Haiming and Zhao Zhongxiang at the West Beijing Hotel
Li Haiming took a group photo with guests invited by the "Cross Strait" column in front of the stage. On the right is the host Li Red
Li Haiming and Li Ao in the studio·Li Ao presented a book
Li Haiming attended a relevant meeting and spoke at the Great Hall of the People
Today, Director Haiming has retired for many years, and his family all lives in Beijing. Although he has retired, what cannot be changed is that he still cares about major domestic and international events and the development of CCTV. You can often see his posts in WeChat Moments.
I wish Director Haiming happiness and good health in his later years.
