On the evening of April 25th, a special program on the coronavirus epidemic called “This Is Us, This Is Light” was broadcast by Youku, Beijing TV, Oriental TV, Xinhua News Agency and Xinhua Video. The program was attended by Li Lanjuan, a well-known epidemiologist and hepatologist, Zhang Dingyu, the president of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, Zhang Boli, an expert in traditional Chinese medicine, and many front-line medical workers, either in person or via video.
Since the start of the COVID-19 epidemic, Youku has successively released “The First Day of Life”, “Front Line”, “Winter to Spring” and other popular programs, recording stories of the era that are worth remembering. The programs make use of Youku’s position as one of China’s top online video and streaming service platforms and the backing of Alibaba to promote China’s social and economic recovery.
The show included sentimental items, for instance a part in which seven relatives of the Wuhan medic Li Yating, who is still busy on the frontline of the epidemic, were able to reunite online with their relative. There was also a speech entitled “Your Name Our Glory” mourning the “martyrs of the epidemic”, and a dance show in which Chinese teen idol Jackson Yee (易烊千玺) joined an “anti-epidemic dance group” wearing protective clothing and dancing the square cabin dance.
Lin Zhiqiang, the chief producer of the special program, stated that they hoped to record the tenacity of ordinary people during the epidemic. He also mentioned that a charity segment had been set up during the program to help farmers, in attempt to harness more power for the country to resume production.
