Why are Chinese citizens being so mean on Liu Xiang?

Question

Five days ago,Liu Xiang suffered a career-threatening injury on his foot when he was warming up for a race in the Beijing Olympics.Thus he had to withdraw from the race to prevent further injury.For this those Chinese citizens have been calling Liu Xiang names such as "eunuch","pig" and "the greatest coward in history".One Chinese netizen even said in a forum,"Even if you die on the track,you should give it a try.Otherwise don't even bother entering the arena."Another netizen even said it was a ploy by Liu Xiang so that Liu Xiang would not continue his poor form.Now what does this show?It shows that those Chinese citizens are insensitive and unsympathetic over injuries,especially when those injuries are career-threatening.Liu Xiang's injury reminds me of an injury suffered by Eduardo six months ago,and the following video proves it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9Zx25imLrw&feature=related

Watch this video,it is a good reminder for you.As for those Chinese citizens who were making such mean comments about Liu Xiang,after watching this video,if an injury similar to that on this video happens to any of the football players from China,would you be making such mean comments about those football players?I believe what Liu Xiang did was right and I wish him a speedy recovery.What are your opinions about this?Please comment without bias.

Answer 1

What are you talking about? Everywhere I've seen (well just the Chinese news and yahoo answers and random news from the internet), Chinese citizens were expressing their sympathy for Liu Xiang and basically said that he was still a hero in their eyes. Some cried. Of course there would be some people making mean comments, but just like a few US citizens do not represent all of American, a few Chinese citizens do not represent all of China. I can understand how some people can be mad because they paid a very high ticket price to see Liu Xiang and he couldn't run at the last minute.

Answer 2

Because they felt that they lost 'face'. Losing face is the worst that can happen to a Chinese. They are very conscious of their image. This is the reason why they had to use digital fireworks and switch little kids singing on the opening ceremony. This is the reason why they spent so much money on the Olympics. It's all about the image, the 'face'. Know Chinese mindset.

It is for this same reason that I doubt that the IOC will even rattle China about underage gymnasts.

Answer 3

Just because some trolls on the internet is bad mouthing him, doesn't mean everyone in mainland China is. I'm sure most people in mainland China feel sympathetic to his situation.

ie. Just because some idiots in the US hate on Michael Phelps, doesn't mean we all do. Most of us think Phelps is awesome.

So don't stereotype entire nations just because of some trolls on the internet. =)

Answer 4

well i think the chinese people have been the best host in a long while, even when somebody makes a mistake they all seem to cheer louder and louder and give them an applause, almost to say "hey it happens but we still love ya" remember the old saying "dont let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch" while there my be a few people who said those things it hardly applies to the chinese as a whole

Answer 5

I think that the entire nation was fully invested, emotionally, in him. I think it emotionally drained many when he failed to race and it is apparent that the reactions are rather emotional as well. How would Jamaica have reacted if Bolt or Powell or their women failed to race well? There is a nation that is very emotionally invested in their sprinters, as China was emotionally invested in him. It is hard to say what your average Jamaican would have done. Same with Americans and Phelps. It's hard to say if the average Chinese will get over it. How much of an investment did they have in him?