A former high-profile news anchor at China’s state broadcaster has seen a resurgence in popularity after completing his six-year prison term on Friday.

Rui Chenggang was a presenter on China Central Television who rose to fame for firing off questions at newsmakers on screen before his jailing for bribery in 2014. He interviewed many politicians, businesspeople and heads of state, including former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott. Controversy broke out in 2011 at the G20 summit when he raised a question to then United States president Barack Obama, claiming to “represent all of Asia.”

His incarceration for bribery, in the northeastern province of Jilin, occurred at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign was well underway, according to a report by Radio Free Asia.

A search on the Twitter-like Weibo for Rui’s name failed to throw up any results because the content violated China’s “relevant laws and regulations,” the social media outlet said in a message on the search page. However, Rui’s Weibo account remains intact, registering 10.4 million followers.

Despite a six-year absence from the small screen, fans flooded his Weibo account with messages of support in the run-up to his release from prison.

“I’ve liked you since middle school. Today I’m already married with a baby on the way,” one internet user wrote. Another wrote: “God will forgive you. I will always support you.”

Some seemed not to have been aware of his imprisonment, asking where he had been for the past six years. News of his trial and sentence had been kept tightly under wraps, with a Chinese news report of his sentencing deleted on its social media account after it was posted in 2017.

The spotlight being thrown on Rui is not only about professional work, but also stems from widespread rumors of his personal life.

He was said to have carried on an illicit relationship with Gu Liping, who was 18 years his senior and the wife of Ling Jihua, an aide to former president Hu Jintao.

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