Ex-star gymnast beggar faces ban
Print Edition
PERFORMANCES by beggars inside Metro trains are illegal, the authorities stressed yesterday, after a former top gymnast was seen performing stunts on Metro lines 1 and 4.
Photographs and video shot by passengers of Zhang Shangwu were posted online recently, creating a stir among the public and drawing the attention of the Metro operator.
Metro operator Shanghai Shentong says its staff or Metro police will fine repeat offenders up to 500 yuan (US$80).
A passenger said the performer said his name was Zhang Shangwu, a retired gymnast.
He had two boards — one with his name and one with a picture of him as an gymnast with a gold medal.
The gymnast performed stunts such as handstands, and had a bowl for collecting cash.
Zhang put the plight of retired athletes struggling with poverty, injury and unemployment in the spotlight in 2011, when he was reported performing on the streets and metro stations in Beijing.
Zhang, a Hebei Province native, won two gold medals at the 2001 World University Games in Beijing when 18.
Selected for the national team, he was training for the 2004 Athens Olympics when injury forced his retirement in 2003.
Zhang was jailed twice in 2007 for theft.
The Hebei Sports Bureau and many organizations offered jobs to Zhang after hearing of his plight.
Recycling tycoon and philanthropist Chen Guangbiao hired Zhang to be his company’s charity ambassador in 2011.
However Zhang quit after three months, claiming that he was looked down upon by other staff.
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