On April 28, 2026, an event celebrating International Workers' Day and honoring recipients of the Jilin Province May Day Labor Award and Workers' Pioneer accolades was held in Changchun. The ceremony recognized representatives for the May Day Labor Certificate, Workers' Pioneer Unit, and May Day Labor Medal. This year, 30 units across the province received the May Day Labor Certificate, 147 individuals were awarded the Jilin Province May Day Labor Medal, and 60 collectives were designated as Jilin Province Workers' Pioneer Units. Notable national honors were also achieved, with 5 units receiving the National May Day Labor Certificate, 29 individuals earning the National May Day Labor Medal, and 26 collectives being named National Workers' Pioneer Units. Among the provincial honorees was Yue Ming, a journalist from Jilin Web Media.
Yue Ming is the first employee from Jilin Web Media to receive this distinguished award since the company's establishment. With 15 years of experience in the field, Yue Ming firmly believes that "the vitality of news is always found on the scene." His career has taken him to major events, from the Jilin Provincial and National People's Congress sessions to the Beijing Winter Olympics and the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. He also spent 42 days on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting from Wuhan, and has traveled to remote border villages—always going where the news is.
"This medal does not belong to me alone; it belongs to every laborer striving on the path of journalism," Yue Ming remarked while accepting the award. Amidst enthusiastic applause, he stood alongside 147 other awardees from various industries across Jilin province on the highest platform honoring the province's workers.
In early 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Yue Ming volunteered to accompany a Jilin medical team to Wuhan. For 42 days, he moved between different "battlefields," using his camera and pen to document healthcare workers racing against time. Despite enduring long hours in heavy protective gear and the lasting marks from goggles, he stated, "Doctors are saving lives; we are recording history. It's all part of the job." His reports from that period resonated widely online.
As media convergence evolved, Yue Ming proactively adapted, moving beyond his writing expertise to become a versatile professional. He spearheaded the creation of brand programs such as "Yue Ming Visits Famous Doctors" and "People's Meeting Room," producing over 120 science communication reports in the past three years with more than 45 million total online views. He also pioneered the use of new technologies like 5G, AI, and VR. His "Jilin-1 Aerospace Open Class" series garnered over 50 million views and was republished by central media outlets including CCTV and People's Daily.
"Writing well is not enough; one must also be able to film, edit, and plan," Yue Ming noted. He mentors younger colleagues in his studio, having developed comprehensive operational standards for integrated media content production and conducted eight training sessions covering over 180 participants. Many of his protégés have since become key team members. In 2024, he was honored with the Fourth "Jilin News Celebrity Award" as a renowned journalist, and in 2025, the team he leads was recognized as an outstanding team within Jilin Web Media.
Yue Ming's work has been both critically acclaimed and widely popular. In 2024, his major thematic report "Journey Along the Thousand-Mile Border: Visiting Frontier Areas, Witnessing Revitalization" received a third prize at the 35th China News Award. To produce this piece, he and his colleagues spent half a month traveling along Jilin's border, from Ji'an to Hunchun, interviewing border guards and documenting stories of rural revitalization. "Good news comes from the ground up; the best stories are found where the earth meets your feet," he often says.
Driven by this commitment to being on-site, Yue Ming has spent an average of over 150 days per year on grassroots reporting assignments over the past three years, producing more than 180 articles on people's livelihoods. Several of his reports have contributed to resolving pressing public concerns.
After 15 years of dedicated work, Yue Ming continues to measure the news scene with his footsteps and convey the spirit of the times through his reporting. As the first Jilin Web Media journalist to receive the Jilin Province May Day Labor Medal, this honor serves as a fitting tribute to a laborer who is "always on the scene."
At the awards ceremony, a segment titled "Passing the Torch, Building Jilin" underscored the theme of legacy. For Yue Ming, "passing the torch" means handing down the lamp of journalism from one generation to the next. "This honor is a starting point, not an endpoint. I will keep running, telling the stories of Jilin well, and recording this great era," he said, his gaze as resolute as ever.
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