Recently, former CCTV News America anchor Phillip Yin’s announcement that he will run for the position of lieutenant Governor in the state of Washington on a Republican ticket attracted widespread attention among the Chinese media.

In an interview with Beijing Youth Daily, Yin said he did not expect that his decision would cause such widespread concerns among the Chinese public. They left messages on his Sina Weibo and posted comments. This is out of his expectation and made him shocked, Yin said.

Yin is "an outstanding and well-known news anchor as well as an investment manager with superior performance", says the Chinese version of the campaign ads. He will make the business and employment situation of the Washington state lead the United States, and "fight for great electors and our values." 

There are eight candidates competing for lieutenant governor of the Washington state, which also includes the incumbent lieutenant Governor Brad Owen. 

In accordance with election rules, in August this year, two candidates will stand out and enter into the next round of election; the run-off election will be held in November.

Yin said no Chinese has ever held the post and the political force in America needs more Chinese faces. If successfully elected, he hopes to make his own contributions. 

Yin, 37, was born and grew up in Yakima. His parents came to the U.S. in the early period of last century. He is the launch anchor for the Chinese television network China Central Television (CCTV) News America, an English-language channel based in Washington D.C. Previously, Yin was a business and political anchor/reporter for CNBC and Bloomberg. 

In business, Yin launched Charles Schwab's portfolio management business in Hong Kong and managed the Swiss-based Unifund. Following Lehman’s bankruptcy, Yin helped lead and investigate credit derivatives mess which later led to the recovery of $1.8 billion on behalf of over 40,000 individual investors.