Boos in the middle of the events, accusations of injustice against the referees, hateful posts on social networks… At the Paris Olympic Games, the attitude of certain China supporters is seriously starting to irritate Beijing.
The Chinese government, which considers that these acts “inappropriate” affect the performance of the country’s athletes, went so far as to massively ban accounts on social networks and arrest the most vehement Internet users. These measures are part of a long-standing fight that China is waging against the cult of celebrity, explains the BBC.
On August 3, table tennis player Chen Meng defeated her own teammate Sun Yingsha, winning the gold medal in the women’s singles table tennis event. On the internet, many Chinese strongly showed their support for the loser, Sun Yingsha, some going so far as to discredit the performance of the new Olympic champion.
In response, Chinese social media platforms had to collectively delete tens of thousands of posts and ban more than 800 accounts for allegedly “spread negativity and fomented conflicts” after this table tennis final, a sport that unleashes passions in the country.
“Low level fans”
As an example, one of Sun Yingsha’s fans wrote that she wished “Chen tests positive for an illegal substance, so the gold medal goes to (Sun)”. A 29-year-old woman was even arrested for posting defamatory comments regarding the same match. According to the Chinese police, she “maliciously fabricated information and blatantly defamed it, which had a negative impact on society”.
Previously, China banned celebrity rankings, restructured fan clubs and eliminated content “pests” fan web pages. In recent days, the state newspaper Global Times has published several articles denouncing the “toxic fan culture” in the world of sport. The Chinese press headline notably highlights that many citizens are concerned about the aggressive attitudes of supporters.
In addition to inflammatory comments targeting sports figures, authorities have also criticized fans who applaud loudly or use their flash phones during matches. The same goes for those who profit from the sale of memorabilia signed by athletes. “The (fan culture) not only affects the training and competition of Chinese athletes, but also seriously affects the reputation of the country’s sports.”berates the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Chinese authorities had already warned against this behavior even before the start of the Games. Late last year, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the General Administration of Sport of China called fans to order after repeated incidents of them filming and following athletes. “It seems like these low-level fans are motivated by their love for idols and impulsively commit irrational actions that endanger public order, good customs, sportsmanship and social morality.they protested in a joint press release.
For their part, the athletes themselves acknowledged wanting to be treated with “respect”. Table tennis player Deng Yaping, aged 51 and considered one of the greatest table tennis players in history, urged her fans to “express their preferences without attacking others”.
