Golden girl proves talk of Net
By Wang Xiang |
March 10, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
VEILED criticism of teenage Chinese speed-skating heroine Zhou Yang has caused a widespread Internet reaction and prompted her parents to consider sending her to elocution lessons.
The critical remarks were not directed at her Olympic gold medal-winning performance in Vancouver last month but rather at her acceptance speech where she thanked her parents before her country.
Zhou, 18, happily told the reporters that the gold medal could make a big difference to her parents' lives after she won the 1,500-meter title.
Her parents are both unemployed and earn a meager income by knitting sweaters for people.
Many Internet users said they were moved by Zhou's simple and from-the-heart speech.
However, Yu Zaiqing, a deputy director of the General Sports Bureau, was not satisfied, Southern Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.
Yu said in a meeting on Sunday that athletes should always remember the debt they owed to their country and talk about their motherland first when winning any honor.
He said top-level athletes in China were mostly handpicked by coaches around the nation and sent to sports schools when young.
He said China picked up all expenses for the future stars.
Zhou's father, Zhou Jiwen, told the newspaper he was moved to tears when he heard her acceptance speech and was shocked by the official's comments.
Zhou's mother, Wang Shuying, said her daughter was still too young to have mastered the etiquette of speech-making and should not be criticized for that.
Speech lessons were being considered, she said.
Most Netizens supported Zhou Yang's moving speech and objected to the criticism.
Gao Jian, a former college classmate of Yu's, said Yu did not criticize Zhou Yang at the meeting.
Yu did not mention her name and was only trying to promote a patriotic sports spirit, Gao told China News Service.
The athlete has already changed her tone.
In an interview with a Website yesterday, Zhou said she should first thank her country for providing her with such good training.
Her parents slipped to fifth ranking on her thank-you list.
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