Did Liu Xiang really injure himself?
The news of China’s “flying man” Liu Xiang, exiting the 110m hurdles preliminary on Aug. 18 both shocked and saddened the Chinese people. But many people doubt the authorities’ intentions even though his coach has said that Liu Xiang had injured his Achilles tendon. Internet discussions on the subject have brought up mixed reactions of suspicion, condemnation, sympathy and understanding, but many postings have been removed.
The Epoch Times interviewed reporters Ling Cangzhou and Ma Xiaoming, from China, and both said the Liu Xiang incident leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Also, the coverage of the story has been so uniform—we hear only the single voice of the CCP state media, which raises suspicions. According to these reporters, the story as reported is actually a cover up by officials.
In the article “He Bettered Himself Again and Again in Four Years” published in the Olympics’ section of the South Cities News, readers learned that Liu Xiang attended the ceremony on July 25 for the initiation of the Chinese Athletic Delegation. At the ceremony, a reporter asked Liu, “How’s your leg injury?” Liu Xiang replied, “I do not have any injury.”
Yet the same edition of the newspaper carried a report on page A-5 in which Liu’s coach Sun Haiping explained to the media that “Liu Xiang indeed withdrew (on Aug. 18) because of injury … his injury persisted for six or seven years.”
Ma Xiaoming, a former reporter for Shaanxi Television, believes South Cities News made a mistake and revealed a conspiracy. Ma, a reporter for 10 years, said, “I have seen this kind of thing happen all too often. My personal speculation is that if Liu Xiang did not get a gold medal, the loss for him and for the Chinese Communist Party would be too great, so the Party’s top circle decided to play this game.”
Ling Cangzhou, a Beijing reporter and writer, commented on the South Cities‘ reporting, “The two accounts are in conflict. Either Liu is lying or Xinhua news is lying—one of them is lying and both are making news through the media.”
Control of the News is Scandalous
Sources reveal that the Chinese Communist Party’s Propaganda Department issued a notice yesterday, forbidding any speculation on Liu Xiang’s exit and asked all reports to follow suit, providing a statement that Liu is “still a hero even though he is leaving.”
Ling Cangzhou said that there must be orders from above that led to the Chinese media’s uniform defense of Liu Xiang. “This is propaganda, not news. Forbidding a discussion, yet posting itself as the truth, is scandalous,” Ling added.
According to Ling, “We can see people’s strong desire to learn the truth, and we can also see the Chinese people’s demand for freedom of expression. The more the authorities block the people’s voice and the true situation, the more people will desire to know the truth.”
Ma Xiaoming believes that “the authorities’ control of news and the subsequent cover-up of the truth is the biggest scandal.”
Ma commented on the press release from official news outlets and said, “What does it mean? Isn’t it just a sport? Even if you get a gold medal, isn’t it still just a game? Why (have the authorities) raised it to such a high level? This shows exactly how the CCP makes politics a priority, using sports and everything else to serve politics.”
The Party’s mouthpiece Xinhua News reported on July 25, “The initiation of this year’s Olympic Delegation is different from the past, as it has an added ceremony. Liu Xiang, Yao Ming, delegation leader Liu Peng and many other athletes wore a national emblem on their uniform and solemnly made their vows to the motherland and the Chinese people in front of the national flag and national anthem.”
Ma said, “This is ridiculous because this is just the Olympic games but they have made vows which put the Chinese people and China itself into bondage. Isn’t this just politics? From this, one can see the CCP’s weakness—the CCP has to rely on forceful means to control people and strengthen itself.”
Truth More Precious Than Gold Medals
“Gold medals do not mean anything compared to freedom of speech and the press,” said Ling Cangzhou. All the Chinese people have been mobilized for the games, information has been blocked, and all aspects of people’s lives have been affected. From the Olympic opening until today, there have been so many problems and scandals, which is really sad. This indicates that honesty and trustworthiness have dropped to the bottom of importance and no one believes in the government.”
“China has different social groups, so everyone’s view of the Olympics will not be the same,” Ling continued. “At least among some intellectual elites and internet users, the Olympics are not highly valued. Ten thousand gold medals are not as good as one sentence of truth. Freedom of speech, press, publication and academic views—all are more precious than gold medals.”
Read this article in Chinese.
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