Former CCTV host Dong Qing, who has been out of the public eye for a long time, was spotted by tourists on April 21st at the Yonghe Temple in Beijing, where she was seen burning incense and paying respects to the Buddha, causing quite a stir.
According to photos shared by netizens, Dong Qing visited the Yonghe Temple with friends that day. Wearing a mask, she had short brown hair and was adorned with several strands of Buddhist prayer beads on her wrist. She wore a blue shirt with a yellow jacket over it, paired with loose jeans, presenting a very low-key appearance.
In contrast to her previous image of being praised for her “intellectual” and “elegant” demeanor, many netizens detected a hint of weariness and fatigue in Dong Qing’s eyes. In a video, she was seen walking side by side with a man dressed in monk’s robes, engaged in conversation and appearing quite familiar with each other. This scene sparked discussions among netizens, who speculated on whether Dong Qing often visits the Yonghe Temple for blessings and the nature of her relationship with the monk.
Last month, Dong Qing was spotted taking her 10-year-old son to an exhibition, marking her return to the public eye after a year and a half of absence, drawing significant attention.
Dong Qing left CCTV after the 2018 Spring Festival Gala. Her husband Mi Chunlei is a businessman and a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). In 2017, Mi Chunlei was exposed for owing debts totaling 7.83 million RMB and being included on the list of dishonest debtors by the court. In 2018, Dong Qing and her family obtained U.S. citizenship, sparking controversy and skepticism. There were even reports of Dong Qing being denied a return to CCTV. On February 23, 2023, “Mi Chunlei becomes a dishonest debtor, restricted from high consumption” hit the hot search topics, as the once prominent Shanghai capital tycoon and billionaire fell into disgrace, prompting sighs of regret.
In fact, after former Deputy Minister of Public Security Sun Lijun of the Communist Party of China was investigated in April 2020, Mi Chunlei’s wealth accumulation history was exposed by multiple official media outlets. In November 2021, “China Real Estate News” published an article titled “Mysterious tycoon Mi Chunlei and his capital empire,” revealing Mi Chunlei’s wealth accumulation story and his manipulation of capital. In January 2022, following reports of Mi Chunlei going missing, an analysis from Radio Free Asia suggested that he was believed to have fallen into the hands of the Changchun City Public Security Bureau in Jilin Province for “supplementary investigation” related to Sun Lijun’s case.
In recent years, several prominent female hosts of CCTV such as Li Sisi, Liu Fangfei, and the daughter of Shui Junyi, Shui Yishi, have resigned. Ouyang Xiadan also disappeared from the list of CCTV hosts. Even before Li Sisi resigned from CCTV, there were rumors that she, along with Ouyang Xiadan and Dong Qing, were once involved in the Sun Lijun case and were subjected to investigation. CCTV has been referred to as the “harem of Zhongnanhai” by outsiders, with suggestions of ambiguous romantic relationships between several female hosts and high-ranking CCP officials.
Overseas media figure He Pin revealed in a video program on August 12, 2020, that after Sun Lijun’s downfall, Dong Qing and Ouyang Xiadan were taken away by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on suspicion of being involved in cases related to Meng Jianzhu and Sun Lijun, with both having close ties to a sensitive location in Shanghai. Therefore, Dong Qing’s appearance looking weary at the age of 50 after a long absence has attracted particular attention, with netizens speculating about hidden stories behind it.