"Watch it?" the caller responded. "We want you to be in it!"

He and several other foreigners were included into a float, becoming the first foreigners to take part in China's National Day parade. "This is China, where anything can－and often does－happen," Maher writes in his book.

Maher had come to China in a way that he had never expected.

It was in April 2003, and he was stalled at the lowest period of his life－he had lost his wife, who died of a brain tumor in 2000, and then he had quit his job at ABC.

One day, when he was tuning into his antique valve radio, a news report from China Radio International crackled on the short wave. On a whim, he sent an e-mail to CRI, mentioning his background in radio and TV. To his surprise, he received a job offer as a voice coach.

Hoping to leave his past behind, Maher flew to China, and after completing his contract with CRI, he joined CCTV and began a new chapter in his life in 2004.

Already in his 70s, Maher looks energetic and exercises every day. "I feel that age is just a number," he says.

"As long as I can read the news at the same level that I have done in the past decade, and as long as CCTV wants me, I will stay."