China

Sports celebrities urged to help disabled

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-05-16 08:22
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KUNMING, Southwest China - "We're hoping that all people of every walk of life can make their efforts to help the disabled, including sports celebrities, because they are both popular and influential in the country," said an official of a concerned Chinese organization, who asked to be anonymous, here on Tuesday.

"With the help of those celebrities, our sport for the disabled can make even more rapid progresses in the world," said the official.

However, from the preparation stage to the third day into the 7th National Games for the Disabled, running till May 20 in both Kunming and Yuxi, none of the sports celebrities at home had ever appeared for the Games. All of them made neither charity efforts and community services nor private donations for the disabled people, according to the fund-raising department of the local organizing committee.

"We haven't received any donation from the sports celebrities so far for the Games for the Disabled," said a staff member of the department.

Against their stardom, many a sports celebrities appeared to be lukewarm in helping those disabled people, with a roughly population of more than 80 million in the country, who have reaped more than 2,000 gold medals and over 200 world records from the international sports arena since 1984.

Among the vast throngs of Chinese sports celebrities, Yao Ming, the NBA center of Houston Rockets, Liu Xiang, the 110m hurdle world record holder, and Yang Yang (A), the former short-track speedskater who made the epoch by winning China's first Winter Olympic golds in Salt Lake City in 2002, are the striking examples in their charity efforts and community services.

Yang Yang (A) was the "goodwill ambassador" for the last National Special Games in 2006, a role to be carried forward by Yao Ming for the Shanghai Special Olympic Games in October, 2007. The Rockets center also becomes a volunteer for the stem cell of bone marrow in China in September 2005.

For Liu Xiang, the most successful track athlete in China with a world record to his credit, "he has donated almost everything of any significance," said his coach Sun Haiping.

Yet, such charity services were seldom for other Chinese sports stars, a crystal contrast against those in other developed countries.

In early of the year, a total of 400,000 yuan (some 52,000 US dollars) was raised on the "Charity Night of Chinese Sports Stars" in Jiangsu province, including 150,000 yuan (some 20,000 US dollars) from the auction of the shoes which Liu Xiang wore when he broke the world record.

On another similar occassion, Xie Yalong, the vice president of the Chinese Football Association, donated 500 yuan (some 65 US dollars) and 10 pairs of cotton trousers, to become the biggest donator.

In last July when Ibrahima Bangoura, a Guinean national footballer who served for the club of Shenyang Jinde in the Chinese Super League, suffered injuries to his eyes during a match and became a blind eventually, the Chinese Football Association called every club for donation, but only received 10,000 yuan (some 1,300 US dollars), the most from an individual, and only 30,000 yuan (some 3,000 US dollars), the total from one club.

Officials at the National Games for the Disabled lamented that all-around efforts and support are badly needed to improve

the sport of the kind in the country.

Chen Fengqing, a blind member of the Yunnan goalball provincial team, said, "We may not look forward to the applauses, neither sympathy nor pity, but we are longing for the respect and careness from the others."

Sports charity is only on the budding stage in China with many of its athletes caring nothing of responsibility in the society, even like Dong Fangzhuo, the Chinese international in the Manchester United of the English Premiership, saying,"I didn't know that an athlete can also make contribution to the social community activities."

An anonymous blind footballer for the National Games said,"I can kick the ball into the net with eyes closed, I'm much better than those who only care for high salaries without any social responsibilities."

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