Chinese officials have accused “western media” of putting politics “above sport” after a photo of Chinese weightlifter Hou Zhihui caused a massive stir.
Hou took the first 49kg category weightlifting gold of the Tokyo Games on Saturday but the way the win was covered provoked public anger in the communist nation.
Chinese figures are unhappy about photos used by media organisations around the world when reporting her gold medal win.
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The photo shows the 24-year-old in the middle of her weightlifting routine during competition.
The Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka first tweeted: “Among all the photos of the games, @Reuters has chosen this one, which only shows how ugly they are.
“Don’t put politics and ideologies above sports, and call yourself an unbiased media organisation. Shameless.”
China’s The Global Times also published an article accusing the Reuters newswire service of “unfairly targeting China”.
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“The selection of the controversial photo also angered Chinese netizens,” the report stated. “Some on Sina Weibo said it only exposes the “mean” face of Western media.”
“See how evil they are, not respecting Hou at all,” one user said. Another Weibo user commented that the “smear and defame won’t stop Chinese athletes winning honor for the country.”
Anger over foreign media reports about Chinese players’ participation in the Olympics was also heightened when CNN’s coverage of the first gold medal of the Olympics, which was claimed by Chinese shooter Yang Qian, was coupled with a headline saying “Gold for China…and more COVID-19 cases.”
Olympic golden glory in the pool
While Chinese officials are complaining about Hou’s treatment, the weightlifter has reportedly been asked to remain in Tokyo before flying home, under the advice of anti-doping officials.
Indian silver-medalist Mirabai Chanu could be upgraded to the gold medal if Hou tests positive for a banned substance.
Hou’s treatment hasn’t been the only issue to ruffle feathers in Beijing. References to Taiwan, which has a separate team from mainland China in the Games, have also dominated complaints on Chinese social media. Taiwan has been competing under the name Chinese Taipei since the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
So when Japan’s public broadcaster NHK introduced the team as Taiwan during the opening ceremony, Chinese online streaming service Tencent Video stopped broadcasting, which led to many viewers in China missing the Chinese team’s arrival in the stadium.
The Chinese consulate in New York also took their concerns to US television network NBC after what it called an “incomplete” map of China aired during the first night. Officials were upset because it did not include Taiwan or the South China Sea.
“Using a wrong map of #China is a real lack of common sense. Politicizing sports and violating the Olympics Charter spirits will only do harm to the #Olympic Games and the relationship between the #Chinese and the #Americans,” the consulate wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
Hong Kong Badminton player Angus NG also raised the ire of China for wearing a black shirt.
Protesters who took to the streets in Hong Kong in 2019 wore black and the colours became a symbol of the movement critical of China.
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