Screenshot showing Zhou Ye, the sign language interpreter, during the live broadcast of the opening session of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Oct. 16, 2022.

On the morning of October 16, 2022, Zhou Ye, dressed in a red suit, appeared calmly in the live broadcast as the sign language interpreter for the opening session of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). She kept up with the speech given by General Secretary Xi Jinping, while her hands moved swiftly between different signs to simultaneously interpret the 30,000-plus-character speech into sign language. Without any stop, her high-quality interpretation allowed all hearing-impaired people to "hear" the Party's message.

A 'silent' TV anchor

This is not the first time that Zhou has appeared as a sign language interpreter on television. At the opening session of the 19th CPC National Congress in 2017, she broadcast the report in sign language for three and a half hours, setting the record for the longest broadcast in sign language for Chinese media.

Zhou has been working for a news program with China Central Television (CCTV) for years and is known for her solid professional interpretation skills. However, she was somewhat hesitant when she received the invitation to broadcast in sign language at the opening session of the 20th CPC National Congress. "The biggest challenge comes from hours of physical exertion and mental stress," she said.