At the end of a Star TV staff meeting in 1997, Deng caught Murdoch’s attention with a startlingly direct question: “Why is your China strategy so bad,” she asked. “That was a very interesting question,” Murdoch reportedly said to her after the meeting, “I’d like to talk to you more.” He hired Deng to accompany him as an interpreter on his frequent business trips to Shanghai and Beijing. Back at the Star TV office, rumors spread among the staff that Murdoch had found himself “a girlfriend,” and according to the Wall Street Journal, Murdoch was seen holding hands with Deng after a dinner meeting in Hong Kong.