Ye Yingchun, a former CCTV anchorwoman, performs at a poetry recital in 2008. She was reportedly involved with China's disgraced ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang. Photo: CFP

The Xinhua News Agency reported on June 24 that Ye Yingchun had resigned as a member of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Ye, a former China Central Television (CCTV) anchorwoman, was under investigation for being allegedly romantically involved with China's disgraced ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang, The Beijing News reported. Zhou, the highest-ranking official to have been investigated for corruption since reform and opening-up began in 1978, was sentenced to life imprisonment last year for abusing power and accepting bribes. 

Ye, born in Jingdezhen, East China's Jiangxi Province, first worked at a local TV station before she became the first female anchor of CCTV's newly launched military channel in July 1996. Then she became a CCTV news anchor in 1998 and hosted many high-profile live broadcasts.

In February 2013, Ye was part of the 12th National Committee of the CPPCC, a panel of China's top political advisors. She submitted several proposals including purifying the Internet through legislation and setting up parking standards.

Ye was absent from the country's annual two political sessions in March 2014, while Zhou was being probed by the authorities.

Ye is not the only anchorwoman that has been linked to corrupt officials. Several female anchors in State or grass-roots media have been involved in corruption cases in recent years.

Life outside TV

Ji Yingnan, a former host for the China Travel and Economic Channel, released photos and videos on Sina Weibo in June 2013, claiming that she was tricked into being the mistress of Fan Yue, former senior official with State Administration of Archives, for four years.

In a video released by Ji, Fan says to her that they have been together for two years, and he hopes that Ji will accept his offer of marriage.

But according to Ji, Fan was actually married the entire time they were together. Fan gave Ji 10,000 yuan ($1,503) every day during their relationship, and then dumped her after she found out about his marital status in 2012.

Then on June 19, 2013, the State Administration of Achieves posted an announcement on its website, saying that Fan had been removed from his post after they verified Ji's story.

In a more recent case, Jin Zeyin, former deputy secretary of the Zhangjiajie city government in Central China's Hunan Province, received a serious warning from the Party on May 30 after it was reported - by the woman's husband - that he was keeping a female TV anchor as a mistress.

"Jin committed adultery with my wife surnamed Lu who worked at Zhangjiajie TV station since 2012, and bought a luxury BMW for her and offered her 1 million yuan every year," Lu's husband wrote online.

In a video clip released by the angry husband, a middle-aged man carries a woman on his back out of an apartment.

After receiving the warning, Jin was transferred to a local government office.

In another case, Wang Dechun, a former female anchor in Shuangcheng, Heilongjiang Province exposed on Weibo in November 2012 that Sun Dejiang, a former manager of a local company and also a former deputy to the National People's Congress, forced her to have sex with him from 1996 onwards.

Wang also claimed that Sun abused his power and raped her when she was pregnant. Sun raped Wang for the first time when she was drunk, and then blackmailed her with a footage he filmed of the rape. Sun was sentenced to 11 years in prison for corruption in April 2014.

In some cases, female anchors who act as the mistresses of corrupt officials also end up behind bars.

Li Yong, former anchor of Guangdong TV, spent seven years of her life as the mistress of Chen Shaoji, former chairman of the Guangdong provincial committee of the CPPCC who was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in 2010 for accepting bribes.

Li was sentenced to three years in jail for receiving bribes.


Newspaper headline: Targeting TV hosts