A Fleeting Return of Focus Report

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On October 7, 1998, then Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, accompanied by the then Minister of the Publicity of the Communist Party China Central Committee, visited central government-run China Central Television, now part of China Media Group. There, Zhu inscribed sixteen characters for Focus Report (焦点访谈）, the prime-time program that aired nightly: “media oversight, the voice of the masses, a mirror for the government, a vanguard of reform.” (舆论监督，群众喉舌，政府镜鉴，改革尖兵)Zhu was not a man given to calligraphy for ceremony’s sake. He made an exception because, like countless Chinese viewers at the time, he was a loyal watcher of Focus Report, a program that had earned extraordinary public acclaim through its relentless exposure of official abuses and social wrongs. He went further still, saying: “Focus Report, through its powerful impact, has won the support of the people across the country. Media oversight points out the problems on our path forward, reflects the sufferings of the masses, gives encouragement to the broad public, and lets the people see hope. Therefore, officials at all levels and all sectors of society should support media oversight.”A few nights ago, for one fleeting evening, Focus Report seemed somehow to remember what it once was. No one is holding their breath for the next such moment of lucidity. But on April 14, 2026, this is what it broadcast.In Junan County, Linyi City, Shandong Province, there is a project called the “Modern Agriculture Public Training Base,” with a total investment of more than 700 million yuan. Media reports once said that the project was “ex…