Yang RuiMost expats in China have likely run across Yang Rui while flipping through all one channels of English-language programming. The host of CCTV 9’s desperately dry Dialogue, Yang has a disposition that is as unforgettable as it is annoying.

Dialogue has been likened to a Larry King Live-style talk show, whereby Yang interviews various guests about current events and politics. His banter generally takes on a “combative for the sake of combativeness” method – particularly when the guest has any view contrary to the PRC line.

So, it was particularly amusing to see Yang’s (obviously unedited) Wikipedia article:

yang-rui-wikipedia

I stumbled across this while looking up Yang’s page after China media maven Kaiser Kuo announced he’d be on Dialogue this weekend talking about the Human Flesh Search Engines. Even Yang’s dry and condescending style can’t ruin this interview – be sure to tune in.

Discussion

37
  1. I gotta say I actually like Yang Rui. He actually asks some very good questions and does not just stick to the party line. At least in the shows I’ve watched. He’s also absolutely nothing like Don Imus.

  2. I’m going to basically nullify the relative maturity of my previous comment by saying that I would absolutely love to see Yang Rui use the term “nappy headed ‘hos”.

  3. It was deleted when I went to check it out. So I added it back, hehehe. The great thing with wiki is the history of edits – you can search through any changes and re-upload them.

    I no longer can stomach anything to do with CCTV9 since June of 2006.

  4. Yang Rui is weird. He can be quite a good interviewer at times but he is so untelegenic and clunky at first viewing that for the first few times I couldn’t understand why they gave him the job.

    PS Ryan, vis a vis your links. I am afraid the wonderfully named mugwhump jism is dead. I clicked on the link the last three times I popped in to your site but no joy or jism to be had.

  5. Yang rui goes deep into subjects which he try to analyze the thing really is with the terrible mess this world is really in. China is trying to put more pressure on the world which will lead to further collapse but i think yang rui have more a plural way of talking and he is mature i like him

  6. The guy who made Chris Gelken seem fair & balanced. Biatch doesn’t say the half of it, he’s also smug and incredibly annoying. Last time I bothered watching CCTV 9 (which admittedly was back in 2005) it was a classic 3- way discussion between their puppet Japanese communist, a pro-CCP HK journo, and the Y-to-the-Rui-meister himself. Rui was nodding along to the Japanese chap talking about how the Catholic Church supports Taiwanese independence (it doesn’t) with the HK journo just trying to inject a slight hint of sanity by suggesting this wasn’t actually true. I’d sooner strip naked, smear myself with Marmite, and crawl ten miles over broken glass than ever watch that crap again!

    The way they can somehow put together supposed ‘dialogues’ between people who essentially agree that the CCP is right in all regards is simply mind-bending. Only a piece of Fascist nonsense like CCTV 9 could carry it.

    • Yang Rui is a master at manipulating his environment, and he is quite good–if you want to put it that way–at asking questions where he already knows how the quest is going to answer. The whole show is set up as a pretense of an open forum. It’s mostly an illusion–and this is where Yang Rui thrives. And I am quite sure that his partner–Tian Wei–was chosen mostly because of her animosity and contempt for America.

      • Your own ignorance is showing. Tian Wei resided and worked as a reporter in the US for about 10 years and is actually fairly pro-US.

      • You obviously know very little about Tian Wei! Did you see her interview with the former mayor of London? Next time, maybe they will actually take the time to discuss the relationship between Britain and China, rather than the Vietnam War.

      • Tian Wei really pissed-off Western Hegemony/White Male Chauvinist on at least one occassion when she had the Israeli Consul-General in Beijing on Dialogue along with a reporter of a Palestinian news organization, and questioned the human rights practices of the Jewish people in regards with Palestinian self-determination, WHICH WE FOLKS IN THE WEST KNOW IS A BIG NO-NO FOR TOP-TIERED ANCHORWOMEN/MEN IN OUR ALLEGED FREE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT. Needless to say, the Jewish representative was thouroughly incensed by this Chinese woman’s “insolence” in challenging Western Hegemony/Zionism.

        I support Yang Rui and Tian Wei in their not-perfect, but VERY GOOD WORK with CCTV-English. May they see continued success as an oversight to foreign media and China-demonizing propaganda trash for many years to come!

  7. Wikipedia should be renamed Westernpedia.

    Yang Rui is the man that kicked out Starbucks from the Forbidden City. Way to go Yang Rui! China needs more leaders like Yang Rui to stand up against China-bashers.

    • Like all propagandists, Yang Rui thrives in an environment where he can control and manipulate everything and everyone. His show is based on the pretense of an open forum, when in fact it is tightly scripted. There are many topics–such as North Korean refugees living illegally in China–that cannot be discussed. But I should thank Yang Rui for one thing. Because of my exposure to his show–and others–I have decided to greatly limit my overall exposure to news. I have decided to make my weekends as news free’ as possible–and I feel better about it, particularly when I can turn my back on the Chinese state-run press and news media. Thank you comrade!

      • What are you doing in China? You sound like the typical complaining ex-pat jerk that has nothing good to say unless you are holding court as a China Expert to the folks back home.

        Chinese state media is actually far more serious about reporting news than the likes of CNN or MSNBC and their Lindsely Lohan obsession.

        Stop whining and get a life.

      • Here is what I am doing in China–avoiding the state-run press and news media as much as possible. It obviously bothers you that people like me can live in China for so many years and still maintain an objective viewpoint. Well, my friend, there are more of us than you might think, and there is nothing that you can do about it.

    • Yes! China must take what is genuinely good and appropriate from West. We dont want the Americanization/Europeanization of this rich and remarkable civilization. Starbucks does NOT fit in the Forbidden City.
      I like watching cctv. It gives another view and thats good. Just like RT.

  8. @Doc Roberts: That was Rui Chenggang/芮成钢.

    As for Wikipedia being renamed “Westernpedia” – though the English-end of the Wikipedia is largely written by “Westerners”, obviously, and the site was created by a Westerner – there may rightfully be a Western-bias in it. But that ANYONE can edit Wikipedia from ANYWHERE in the world, and that it is localized in a bazillion different languages, well… “c’mon dummy” is about all I can think to say to your comment.

  9. Am I supposed to take seriously the characterization of Yang Rui and co-host Tian Wei as “equally annoying destroyer(s) of free discussion and debate” when the next sentence is, “They both deserve a good slap.” ??? That’s the kind of free discussion and debate you’re advocating?

    It’s state media guys, what do you expect? This is typical expat whining. How many of you have actually watched his show recently?

    • I have been watching Yang Rui and his little show for years–I live in Beijing and I have a master’s degree in mass media. And I know his agenda, and I loathe his arrogance. He loves to discuss the arrogance and ignorance of Americans. America’s misery is his joy. But he can only win if we, as Americans, allow him to win. We cannot win in this society, but we can break even–and that is a moral victory.

  10. I don’t like him. I also don’t like Charlie Chaplin. I find Chaplin movies annoying and unfunny. Acording to your logic I am now whining and American bashing.

    And no, I have not watched the show in years. Same with Chaplin movies. That’s a choice.
    It people don’t like him, they can just not watch.
    However, if we want to express our thoughts about why some people don’t like Chaplin (for example)what’s wrong with that?

    Can you explain typical expat whining for me? Examples would be cool.

  11. During my visit to Beijing in the month of July, I enjoyed very much to have the opportunity to watch several interesting interviews of the host of CCTV9 Yang Rui to very relevant people like Henry Kissinger, Robert Mundell, Nobel Prize Economics, 1999, and many professors explained the causes of Xinjiang’s disturbances during past June and July, and I was able to explain them to my students later.
    Congratulations to CCTV9 to have such an outstanding host. Yang Rui makes the Dialogue program excellent. I miss the program very much.
    Best wishes! Prof. Thaís M. Córdoba, School of International Relations, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica

  12. There is no accurate measurement for Yang Rui’s arrogance, as there is no limit to his animosity and contempt for America. And for Yang Rui, it is not simply a case of him promoting the political agenda of the Chinese government. For him, it is personal. I have been watching him for years, and he never fails to irritate and nauseate me at the same time.

    In fact, it is my exposure (exposure, as to a virus or toxic waste) to the Chinese state-run press in general that has convinced me to greatly reduce my time watching any news. I now make my weekends ‘news free’ as much as possible. Thank you, comrade Yang!

  13. People like Yang Rui can only win if we allow them to win. Take that away from him–take from him as he has taken from you. Do not beg for forgiveness that you are an American. That’s what he wants–Americans on their knees.

    • I’m Hong Kong-based and have been amused by this guy for years. He really is a quite fascinating study in insecurity. I will laugh even harder when he one day flees to the U.S.

  14. I came here to say the GMILF Tian Wei has picked up the mantle. She really tore into 2 guys promoting The Guinness Book of World Records. Held their feet to the fire for 30 solid minutes. Is this symptomatic of communication problems between The West & China going forward? I hope not.

  15. Yang Rui is Patient Zero for LDS (Little Dick Syndrome). Fuck him, and fuck Dialogue. Also, who exactly is the target audience for that show? Chinese people can’t understand it, and the ridiculous propaganda he spews is comically absurd to English-speaking foreigners. Just another day at the office for the crack CCP Ministry of Stupidity, or whatever government agency is in charge of producing that steaming pile of crap of a show.

  16. Foreign trash such as Larry Sellers shares this common pathetic sensee of superiority of

    “we the white/jews have bigger Assholes, Boobs, Cunts, Dicks and Egos.”

    People like him should of course be kicked out of China. Go talk to your own mothers,sisters, daughters with that mentality.

    Hope someday the Chinse rise and get you sick fellows out.

  17. I like both Tian Wei and Yang Rui in their “Dialogue” program. You just have to be aware that these two hosts are ESL speakers, but they do a very good job. If you mix the CCTV-9 stuff with all the propaganda from BBC, CNN and Faux News, you can get a clearer overall picture of Democracy in the international sense.

  18. I too am a fan of Yang Rui. I loved his interview of former U. S. president Jimmy Carter. His questions were poignant and very professionally executed. No softball questions. I’m tired of the softball questions that you see on American media. The ONLY politician who has been thoroughly scrutinized in the last 20 years was Donald Trump. The only serious questions posed to Hillary Clinton were posed by Trey Gowdy, a Republican politician from South Carolina. Americans have forgotten what REAL journalism is. How about those weapons of mass destruction (WMDs)? Journalism in America is dead.

  19. I’m also LaoWai, but I have to concur, Larry Sellers comments are toxic and he is part of the problem rather than part of the solution. I hope you can provide more constructive criticism next time, Larry, because now you just come across as being a whiner.

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