Chinese swimmer Sun Yang: With three medals under his belt at
the London Olympics, Beijing feels that he and his fellow
athletes
in the China delegation have been unfairly impugned by charges
of doping launched largely by the West.
Western 'Arrogance
and Prejudice' Violate the Olympic Spirit (People's Daily, People's Republic
of China)
Is simple
Western discomfort about the rise of China behind suggestions that Chinese Olympic
athletes are doping? For China's state-run People's
Daily, Wu Li-ming writes that it is time for the
West - and its media outlets - to set aside the inherent prejudice they hold
toward the rise of Chinese athletes - and China in general.
China's 16-year-old Ye Shiwen: Her phenomenal Olympic performance immediately raised questions of doping - which brought a quick cry of 'prjudice' from Beijing. Is the West inherently biased against Chinese athletes?
BEIJING: Since the opening of the London Olympic Games last
week, a small number of Western media outlets have indulged in making up
stories about China, ranging from labeling Chinese athletes "medal
machines" to making evidence-free doping claims.
By doing this, Western writers have demonstrated an
arrogance and prejudice against Chinese athletes that has ignited widespread
criticism around the world.
The Olympic Games are a major sports competition gala, and competing
for medals is in line with the Olympic spirit. Everyone knows that at the
Beijing Olympics four years ago, China topped the gold medal standings. But Chinese
are fully aware that their nation still lags behind the No. 1 powerhouse in the
world.
[Editor's Note: Combining all medals won since the modern
Olympics began in 1896, including summer and winter Games, the winningest nations are as follows: 1)United States 2)
Russia/USSR 3)Germany 4)Great Britain 5)France 6)Italy 7) Sweden 8) East
Germany 9) Hungary 10) Finland 11) Norway 12) Australia 13) China.]
Posted
by Worldmeets.US
That is why the Chinese delegation never set for itself the
goal of topping the gold medal standings at the London Olympics.
The Austrian newspaper Der Standard noted recently that compared to a country with a
population of 311 million (referring to the United States), China, which boasts
a population of 1.3 billion people, has an inherent advantage in terms of
recruiting sports talent.
Nevertheless, one simple fact has been deliberately
neglected.
Repeatedly accusing Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen
of doping - without any evidence whatsoever - must be likened to a kind of
hysteria fanned by some Western media outlets.
Although world swimming's governing body FINA and the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) have reiterated that no drug cheats could have escaped the strict
testing regimen of the IOC, certain Western media outlets ignored the test
results and continued to show stubbornness and arrogance.
As a matter of fact, this stubborn prejudice stems from
being upset about the rise of China. For one thing, Chinese swimmers Sun Yang
and Ye Shiwen have become shining stars in events
that Western athletes have dominated for decades. Some Western media have yet to adapt to the new
reality, so they exert every effort to blacken the performances of Chinese
athletes.
Apart from sports, the West has always shown a similar dark
psychology and mentality toward China's rise. As long as China has made
progress in science, technology, economics and social development, the Western
world has been busy making up stories about China "cheating" or
"violating international rules."
The core of this mentality is that many in the West are
unwilling to recognize the fact that China is now the second largest economy in
the world.
At the London Olympics, it is irresponsible for Western
media to pour filth on Chinese athletes who win because of hard training and
years of arduous preparation.
All in all, arrogance and prejudice violates the Olympic
spirit. It is time to tear off arrogance and prejudice, now and forever.
