Chinese embassy criticises Western media on social for 'ugly' portrayal of Chinese athletes

The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka has published several posts criticising Western media wires for using an unattractive photo of a Chinese Olympic weightlifting athlete. 

On 24 July, the official account of The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka published a post, criticising Western media wires choosing an image showing Hou Zhihui's struggling face, with a caption: "Among all the photos of the game, @Reuters has chosen this one, which only shows how ugly they are. Don't put politics and ideologies above sports, and call yourself an unbiased media organisation. Shameless. Respect the spirit of #Olympics."

A day later, the same account published another post, reading "Same day, same Olympics, same @Reuters, different faces. Maybe it's because everything good in life comes easier for the white Westerners? We said that these biased MSM (mainstream media) are ugly. Never the athletes. They're beautiful, no matter their colors and nationalities." However, the embassy's criticism did not stop here. 

Right after the post, it published yet another one attacking CNN. "Anyone who still consider the embassy over-reacting on western MSM reporting against China and believe them unbiased, non-political and independent, please see today's best (so far) anti-China/humanity/#Olympics headline presented by CNN from #Tokyo." This caption was followed by "Sorry for their poor people" with a clasped hands emoji. 

According to Hong Kong Free Press, China Daily also used a photo showing Hou's struggling face, but a quick check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE showed an image of Hou celebrating. 

Chinese state media Global Times also said that several netizens felt disappointed and angered by the coverage by Western media such as CNN. However, other netizens disagreed with the embassy's approach, adding, "I think it's a well captured photograph, which shows nothing good in life comes easy. It's up to the person viewing the picture to interpret it, but most will appreciate it."

Apart from this incident, China also criticised NBC Universial for what it said was an incomplete map of the country that should have contained Taiwan and the South China Sea when broadcasting the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

Chinese Consulate General in New York issued a post on Twitter. It said, "Using a wrong map of #China is a real lack of common sense. Politicising sports and violating the Olympics Charter spirits will only do harm to the #Olympics Games and the relationship between the #Chinese and the #US people." 

By Monday morning, China has had a confident showing at the Olympics having bagged six gold medals — three in weightlifting, one in fencing and one in diving in addition to an air rifle gold.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong badminton player Angus Ng also created so ruckus and was heavily criticised by a pro-Beijing lawmaker and some netizens for wearing a black jersey that was missing Hong Kong's Bauhinia emblem in a Tokyo Olympics match on Saturday. The Hong Kong Badminton Association (HKBA) has since said it that it has asked sponsors of Hong Kong Olympic delegation FILA to provide a uniform for Ng, as his previous sponsorship with YONEX expired prior to the Olympic Games. 

In a statement, HKBA said that before the Olympic Games, Ng failed to extend its sponsorship with YONEX. With very limited time, Ng decided to pick his jersey on his own to join the game. After realising the incident, HKBA immediately asked FILA, sponsors of the Hong Kong Olympic delegation, to offer him jerseys in upcoming matches. 

The Tokyo Olympics has had a tumultuous journey, from getting postponed last year and racking up a bill of US$3 billion to citizens urging the Japanese government to cancel the Olympics. A day before the opening ceremony, the Tokyo Olympics once again made headlines after it fired the director of the opening ceremony over a Holocaust joke he reportedly made during a 1998 comedy show, the Associated Press said.

Kentaro Kobayashi was reportedly accused of joking about the Holocaust during his 1998 comedy act, including the phrase "Let's play Holocaust", AP added, resulting in criticism on social media. According to organising committee president, Seiko Hashimoto, the team apologises for "causing troubles and concerns" to several involved parties, the people in Tokyo as well as the rest of Japan. Kobayashi was previously a member of popular comedy duo Rahmens which was known for its comedy series including "The Japanese Tradition".

This incident came after composer Keigo Oyamada, whose music is being used for the opening ceremony, apologised for bullying a classmate when he was a child. According to AP, reports of Oyamada abusing a child with disabilities emerged online and resulted in a backlash on social media. Netizens also reportedly demanded for his resignation.

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