Preview

Chinese state media lauds Olympians' gold medal haul

Please log in to download this media. Not registered? Register now!

Metadata

Chinese state media lauds Olympians' gold medal haul
August 12, 2024
Article Body Text State media praised China's athletes on Monday after they brought home 40 gold medals from the Paris Olympics, topping the count alongside the United States and "winning honor for the motherland and the people," as leader Xi Jinping claimed the political credit for the ruling party. "China's athletes returned triumphant after successfully completing their mission," the People's Daily trumpeted in an editorial, quoting Xi as saying that China's Olympians had "kept in mind the instructions of the party ... and carried forward the Chinese sporting and Olympic spirit." The fulsome praise came amid <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/olympics-doping-swimming-congress-lawmakers-07302024114710.html">allegations of widespread doping</a> by Chinese athletes and a reprimand to unruly fans from official media outlets after they <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/olympics-defamation-arrest-tabletennis-08072024100107.html">booed one Chinese athlete</a> in the women's table tennis final. "The excellent results achieved by our sports delegation fully demonstrated the vigor, courage, and ambition of the athletes in the new era, further stimulated the patriotic enthusiasm of hundreds of millions of people and the national pride of the Chinese people," the party's official newspaper quoted Xi as saying. The "new era" is political jargon for Xi's leadership of the party. "You have won glory for our country and people, and we extend warm congratulations and heartfelt compliments to you," the government said in a joint statement from the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and the State Council. <figure><img alt="ENG_CHN_OLYMPIC MEDALS_08122024_002.jpg" class="image-richtext image-inline" src="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/eng_chn_olympic-medals_08122024_002.jpg/@@images/99c8451d-b863-462b-b447-0b7e3619249e.jpeg" title="ENG_CHN_OLYMPIC MEDALS_08122024_002.jpg"/> <figcaption>Qian Li of China celebrates winning against Atheyna Bibeichi Bylon of Panama in Women’s Boxing, Aug. 10, 2024 in Paris. (Pilar Olivares/Reuters) </figcaption> </figure> China finished second in the overall medal table at Paris 2024 to the United States with 40 gold, 27 silver and 24 bronze medals. It was the country's best performance at an overseas Olympic Games, state news agency Xinhua reported at the top of its official website on Monday. China and the United States took home the same number of gold medals -- 40, but the U.S. headed the overall medals chart because it won more silver medals than China. American athletes brought home 126 medals in all, compared to China's 91. Japan took third place with 20 golds among its 45 medals, the Associated Press reported. "Team China shines at Paris with record-breaking performance," the English-language Global Times headline blared, citing experts as saying that the country's Olympics success would benefit public health and energize "sports for all." Little investment in amateur sports But commentators told RFA Mandarin that there is currently scant investment in amateur sports in China, and that the team's success was entirely dependent on a state-run and state-funded <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/olympics-paris-chinese-netizens-medals-07302024105921.html">medal factory</a> that picks out promising youngsters and trains them to excel in key sports. <figure><img alt="ENG_CHN_OLYMPIC MEDALS_08122024_003.jpg" class="image-richtext image-inline" src="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/eng_chn_olympic-medals_08122024_003.jpg/@@images/8d58f6f3-0cc3-4532-bafe-221c1051a99c.jpeg" title="ENG_CHN_OLYMPIC MEDALS_08122024_003.jpg"/> <figcaption>Gold medallist China's gymnasts celebrate after winning the rhythmic gymnastics' group all-around final during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena in Paris, Aug. 10, 2024. (Gabriel Bouys/AFP) </figcaption> </figure> Despite official claims that a healthy China is a top priority, there is little funding for anything outside of the state sporting machinery, according to Sun Nan, a commentator with connections to the General Administration of Sport of China. "There is almost no investment in non-government sports," Sun said. "I have a relative who works in the General Administration of Sport of China ... [and] basically there isn't much money allocated to the private sector." One exception was <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/deaths-05242021115720.html">investment in marathons</a>, which boomed in China between 2004 and 2014, boosting the overall performance of Chinese athletes, according to Sun. "But it was less like a sport than a political movement, like steel production during the Great Leap Forward," he said, referring to Mao Zedong’s disastrous 1958-62 policy. Independent journalist Gao Yu said Chinese athletes and coaches are entirely supported by taxpayers' money, with a typical gold medal estimated to cost the government around 700 million yuan (US$97.5 million) back in 2008. "Why does the Chinese Communist Party regime invest in gold medals at all costs? It's so the gold medal becomes the face of totalitarianism," Gao told RFA Mandarin on Monday. Some of the current political rhetoric around "self-confidence" among the current leadership has its roots in the success of Chinese athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, she said. Taiwan and Hong Kong While most online comments were jubilant, some complained that China's gold medal count would far surpass that of the United States if the four golds won by Chinese Taipei, representing Taiwan, and the Hong Kong, China delegation were taken into account. <figure><img alt="ENG_CHN_OLYMPIC MEDALS_08122024_004.jpg" class="image-richtext image-inline" src="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/eng_chn_olympic-medals_08122024_004.jpg/@@images/2be8e12a-416f-4a4a-a78a-568f423fc50d.jpeg" title="ENG_CHN_OLYMPIC MEDALS_08122024_004.jpg"/> <figcaption>Gold medallist Wenwen Li of China celebrates on the podium with silver medallist Hyejeong Park of South Korea and bronze medallist Emily Campbell of Britain, Aug. 11, 2024. (Isabel Infantes/Reuters) </figcaption> </figure> "We won 44 gold medals," wrote one social media user. "We have Taipei and Hong Kong, which are both part of China." Taiwan, which has never formed part of the People's Republic of China, competes internationally as Chinese Taipei. Hong Kong, a former British colony, has been permitted to continue sending its own athletes since the 1997 handover to China. Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting took one of the island’s gold medals in the women’s featherweight boxing final in Paris on Saturday, beating Poland’s Julia Szeremeta 5-0 in the final bout, while the island’s badminton men’s double duo beat China for the final gold, prompting <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/olympics-paris-taiwan-badminton-chinese-taipei-08052024143850.html">censorship from Chinese state media</a>. Cheung Ka-long and Vivian Kong took Hong Kong’s two gold medals in Paris, both in fencing. Public indifference But according to Gao, a huge haul of gold medals is unlikely to benefit most Chinese people in any meaningful way, because ordinary people lack free education and free medical care, and the national system simply isn't geared up to improving the physical fitness of the whole nation. She said many people are fairly indifferent to the number of golds won by China in Paris. Jiangsu resident Cha Wuquan said <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/jobless-economic-slump-07042024105248.html">economic worries</a> are trumping sporting glory for many people this summer. "Ordinary people do still care, but a large number of people are even more concerned about getting by," Cha said. <figure><img alt="ENG_CHN_OLYMPIC MEDALS_08122024_005.jpg" class="image-richtext image-inline" src="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/eng_chn_olympic-medals_08122024_005.jpg/@@images/c023ade8-3d3b-4294-b59a-3e93ac81e9af.jpeg" title="ENG_CHN_OLYMPIC MEDALS_08122024_005.jpg"/> <figcaption>Gold medallist Zhanle Pan of China celebrates after winning the race and setting a new world record, July 31, 2024 in Paris La Defense Arena, Nanterre, France. (Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters) </figcaption> </figure> "The number of Olympic gold medals isn't representative of the state of health of the Chinese people, because the system trains them up to be competing machines," he said. The physical fitness of the Chinese people is relatively poor because they don't see sports as very important, Cha said, adding that sports performance doesn't weigh very heavily in the assessment of students in China's highly competitive education system. Political commentator Cai Shenkun said there is a stark contrast between the state-backed sports system in China and the emergence of stars in other countries who have had to fit training into their otherwise busy lives, or who may even hold down jobs while competing. "Many champions are formed through amateur sports," he said, adding that China's medal count was hardly surprising given the size of the country's population and the concentration of state resources behind its Olympics team. Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Content Type Text
Language English
NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing Available No
Rights Pilar Olivares/Reuters
Network VOA
Embargo Date August 12, 2024 17:27 EDT
Byline By Qian Lang for RFA Mandarin, Ng Chi Ping for RFA Cantonese
Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English