China’s emerging strength in snowboading is a ‘Chinese invasion’: Globe and Mail
Halfpipe gold medallist Xuetong Cai of China is flanked by compatriots Zhifeng Sun (left), silver, and Xu Cheng, bronze as they stand on the podium at the FIS snowboard world cup Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 in Stoneham Que. (CP)
With the Winter Olympics just weeks away from opening, I was shocked at the narrow-sightedness or interpretation of snowboarding in an Globe and Mail article today, titled “Once out-of-place gymnasts, now halfpipe heroes: Chinese reach summit of snowboarding world”. When describing the Chinese snowboarding atheletes, one paragraph says:
Their lack of English and their difficult names forced their Canadian halfpipe instructors to improvise. The
instructors gave the teenagers nicknames such as Sun and Cliff, based on natural features seen from the mountain.
“Difficult names”? I mean, the author and people alike are falling in love with the westerners’ superiority complex again. The connotation here is so colonial. Obviously, the author thinks Chinese names are “difficult” as compared to Anglo names. Well, it’s completely western-centric. To me, phonetic-transliterated Anglo names in Chinese are forever harder to read. Such as:
民主黨參議員芭芭拉·博克瑟和拉塞爾·范戈爾德２２日宣布反對伯南克連任，批評這名美國中央銀行負責人應對金融危機時偏愛銀行業，犧牲普通民眾利益。(from Xinhua)
Oh, I forgot. The Chinese language is not an internationally acclaimed language or commonly used language (yet) so who cares about how the language is used?
“Improvising” these Chinese atheletes into names “based on natural features seen from the mountain” is itself an act of total discrimination and disrespect of others’ cultures. It’s like “Charlie Chan” all over again.
Oh yes, people could argue the Chinese people also use all kinds of “improved” names calling foreigners. Yes, it happens all over the world. Oh yes, this argument is very true, and true for any culture. But accusing foreigners’ names as “difficult” and need to be “improved” in a NATIONAL newspaper? Well, I think the Globe should explain itself.
Here’s another paragraph that pisses me off:
As word spread about China’s fledgling snowboard team, people flocked to the halfpipe to see the spectacle. Tom Hutchinson, the head freestyle coach for Canada’s national team, found the scene darkly comic. The teens seemed unsure on their boards, but if they launched off the five-metre-high wall of the halfpipe, they twisted and flipped like acrobats.
Some members of the national team pitied the young athletes who seemed so out of place in Whistler-Blackcomb’s close-knit snowboard community. But Mr. Hutchinson’s initial thought was, “We’re in trouble.” Five years later, China has tipped the snowboarding halfpipe world off its axis.
“Darkly comic”? Yes, these atheletes might not understand the “rebellious” nature and/or history of snowboarding in the West. But their relentless effort into training of the sports — and all kinds of sports — should be appreciated and not laughed at. Isn’t that the spirits of the Olympics? If westerners believe any sports should be prescribed in western cultural terms and that people from other cultures should abide by the western definitions, then such sports should NOT be included in the Olympics. Such sports should remain as geographically-specific. Don’t make it an international one that supposed to be as inclusive as possible.
I’d say to the ego-centric westerners: Redefine the meaning of the “Olympics” to be exclusively a western game. Before then, don’t pretend to be fair and open on one hand and teasing other peoples who are interpreting sports in other terms as being “at odds” with their “traditions”.
At the root of Ms. Liu’s rapid ascent is a tried and true Chinese strategy: Pick an underdeveloped event, pluck young athletes with the appropriate body and skills out of government-funded sports schools, and hire expert foreign coaches. Ben Wainwright, the owner of Glacier Snowboard Camp and the man Chinese officials hired for the six-week camp sponsored by Burton, said the 12 gymnasts and martial artists had never set foot inside a halfpipe before they arrived in Blackcomb. But their goal was to reach the podium in 2010.
The strategy may seem uncomfortably formulaic to most Westerners, and it is especially at odds in snowboarding, a sport that has traditionally attracted rebels and free spirits raised on snow. Big sponsors and the debut of the halfpipe and parallel giant slalom events at the 1998 Olympics have transformed it into a sophisticated and competitive sport, but many of the world’s top riders still espouse the mantra that snowboarding is, above all else, about having fun with your friends.
“That’s not the heart and soul of snowboarding,” says Dominique Vallée, a member of Canada’s halfpipe team. “It’s not a boot camp, and it’s not at all costs.”
And this one is most offensive:
Nevertheless, the Chinese invasion has forced the sport’s old guard to face a choice: Raise the ante, or learn to lose.
Chinese invasion????? Excuse me??? The intent of the author is very clear here: that snowboarding is a western sports and only atheletes who should be good at is must be the westerners. Outsiders who try to succeed in this sports is INVASION!
This is completely anti-Olympian, if not just anti-China.
Tags: bias, discrimination, Globe and Mail, Olympic, Politics, snowboard, sports, Winter OlympicsRelated posts
Short URL: http://www.chineseinvancouver.ca/?p=10245
Yawn! What did you expect!?
The author only delivered what her audience wants to hear. You can’t really blame her.
The author page:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_mick/
Why don’t you post a rebuttal in the comment section over there?
There is also one part where the report called the girls “robots”. It was very insulting and dehumanizing. Speaking of human rights.
What did the girls do to deserve such a degrading name……it is ok to call a Chinese a “robot”…………….eventhough these kids take a sport that is completely unfamiliar to them and beat the white people at their own game……so I don’t know if I would admit being beaten by a robot……………….
I love this post, it made me laugh with tears
….. Canadian media has too many distasteful, no talent journalists who publish a whole lot of rubbish.
I don’t think really know what they are writing sometimes.
Why would anyone protect the Communist Chinese who stole the minds, hearts and souls of their innocent Chinese people and then butchering over 70 million of their own people since the take over of the mainland in 1949.
I don’t remember the last time I celebrated Chinese New Year. And I don’t remember the last Chinese New Year parade that I watched in Chinatown. But I do remember that as a kid, my grandmother gave me a Lisee and she would always repeat this mantra “With this Lisee, you will grow up to be a big boy and be smart in school”. And I would be smiling hard and eyes fixed on the hand that is holding the Lisee, waiting for the handover, her mantra mere mumbles in the background, And I would say “Yes, Grandma, thanks Grandma”, and I would take the much anticipated red envelop and run past my brother who was next in line for the Lisee and mantra.
I would run to my secret hiding place with my Grandma’s Lisee and I would take out the stash of Lisees that I received from my parents, aunts and uncles, strangers who happened to be caught in the bind of meeting my father and a kid, me. Why is it a hard and fast tradition to give strange kids Lisees I don’t know but I love it. Whenever I see a stranger approach my father, I would run up and hold my fatther’s hand and pretend to be a nice shy kid. Big fat middle age women are the best targets. They are at the stage of life where they have accumulated some wealth so they would put more money in the Lisee, but above all, they want to have “face”. They don’t want some kid screaming “oh, you just gave me a nickel in my Lisee”. That would be embarrassing for them.
The most intriquing part is to guess how much money you are getting in the Lisee. I was surprised one time that I got a buck (not a loonie) from an old scraggley widow, I was expecting a penny for sure.
So I was in my secret hiding place which was actually my closet sorting out my treasure of Lisees. Then a flash of light from outside, the closet door opened, my private space invaded. And I saw my friend Angelo Rizzento stood down on me with a broad smile on his face and he said, “hey, guess what your Grandma just gave me, a Chinese voodoo red envelope, she said something about with it I will be good in school.
I looked at him pensively for a moment and asked “Well, are you good in school”. As expected, he said no.
“Well, Angelo, the way for the voodoo magic red envelope to work is that you must give it to a good friend of yours, like me, and the magic will work and you will even pass math this year.”
“Holy Batman, are you sure? I will pass math? Without studying?……….here”
“Oh, Angelo, another thing, you want to go get Matt Dawson who is really bad in French, to see my grandmother and to see me afterward……………………….”
Kellie,
We are not protecting the Communist Chinese government. China is a country with 4000 to 5000 years of history. China doesn’t equal to the current government or any ex-dynasty or government, and a certain political party or government doesn’t equal to China.
Perhaps this will be edited out, but please please please re-read the G&M article for comprehension.
Don’t like the implications about the names? Blame the coaches (who have brought the boarders along the path to success!), not the author of the article.
I’m not sure if English is the first language of this author, but many of the things that the article takes issue with seem to stem from a lack of understanding of colloquial English.
“The intent of the author is very clear here: that snowboarding is a western sports and only atheletes who should be good at is must be the westerners. Outsiders who try to succeed in this sports is INVASION!”
Please come back when you have a firmer understanding of colloquial English.
its an article about how the woman are dominating, quite well, and out of the blue…. overrunning the competition… like an invasion…
the point about the lack of english and difficult names was just a point at about the initial difficulty in training… there was no starting point.. even communication was a task… yet they endured and have come out on top….
the article is a COMPLIMENT
She didn’t write anything bad about chinese. You clearly misinterpreted the article.
She basically stated the facts. And actually suggested that canada learn a few things from china.
fyi, I am chinese.
Jason wrote: “I’m not sure if English is the first language of this author, but many of the things that the article takes issue with seem to stem from a lack of understanding of colloquial English.”
—————————–
Jason, in the name of democracy, human rights and equality, would you please give some examples of the colloquial English that you are talking about?
And please also explain what is being misunderstood. Thanks.
What is so colloquial about the word ‘invasion’?
Read between the lines.. Now who would be so conniving to drum up “invasion” under the peaceful banner Olympics, and “yellow peril” is so passé. It is so telling when a convoluted mind cannot give a praise and credits where they are due. It is just too condescending. Besides, you don’t want to risk being miscategorized by your peer as an Indian kisser.
how can u regard this article as complimentary? this article is written from a typical western standpoint. the chinese are changing the nature of the sport . they are gonna beat these ” traditional ” fun loving snowboarders with their seriousness and determination to win.
the article is not being untruthful though. when the korean women golfers started to win all these LPGA tournaments the americans called them the korean invasion. the koreans dominated the LPGA for a while but now other players have risen up to the challenge.
looking at it objectively, this is how sports evolved going fr fun to fierce competition going from sportsmanship to gamesmanship. the fun level is reduced when people become more and more competitive.
i think bias is not the right word to describe the western press. hypocritical is a better word. because of all the competitors in the world none is as competitive as the americans and none wants to win at all costs as much as the americans.
get over it folks this is the white world its their standards u are being measured against. be grateful if u can beat them in their own games and they do not change the rules on u. sports is one such area. there are not too many areas where once u show u can beat them and they do not change the rules on u.
with china being ruled by a bunch of corrupt totalitarians and many of the oversea chinese becoming their ever forgiving supporters. good luck to u with respect to your constant ranting about western superiority.
the difference between the west and china is like this. in the west its system of government has the time proven ability to fool people by making them believe in the system. in china , the system has less credibility and it feels more insecure about its ability to fool people so it wants to produce fools from the outset. mao resorted to burning books. the current regime resort to producing fools under two categories: consumerism and nationalism.
You know why the Western people don’t think this piece is biased? Read the conceptual framework here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_privilege
“Theories of white privilege assert that the experience of whites is viewed by whites as normal rather than advantaged. This normative assumption causes all discussion of racial inequality to focus on the disadvantages of other racial groups, and on what can be done to bring them up to white (i.e. ‘normal’) standards, effectively making racial inequality an issue that does not involve whites.”
Remember, we are talking about the Olymics here. Every country’s athletes do practicing and training ALL THEIR LIFE, using government money (state-sponsored, “full-time” athletes), just so they can participate in the games.
(It is not like we pick some random people off the street to play the games)
How is it fair for Western countries’ men and women National Ice Hockey team to have players who play professional leagues like NHL, National Women’s Hockey League, Western Women’s Hockey and various European leagues, when national teams from China, Japan, Korea don’t have any professional leagues in their countries?
And what about all those Western countries’ athlete who are caught using performance-enhancing drugs? Oh geez, why did they do THAT? Why are they so desperate to WIN?
We understand them very well. Why would they want to be fair? Nope. They only want–”pride and supremacy” wherever and whenever they can get.
chengfan u have a good point the olympics used to be for the amateurs only. in the past two decades thanks to the commericialization argument professionals can play too so u have the american dream team in basketball that creamed everyone and all that.
the argument has always been when u compete against eastern bloc countries u cannot beat them b/c they are state trained and sponsored they are not real amateurs. now u can still hear the same criticism against china fr countries like canada which is not funding her althelets like crazy and does not have very strong professional sports except in hockey
anyway the olympics is about money politics and winning.
this is what they are discussing in the following forum:
http://www.revscene.net/forums/globe-and-mail-t606019.html
“the difference between the west and china is like this. in the west its system of government has the time proven ability to fool people by making them believe in the system. in china , the system has less credibility and it feels more insecure about its ability to fool people so it wants to produce fools from the outset.”
LW
2010 February 17
“The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.”
Robert Stack (1956 – 2010)
2010 February 18
One of the person over there says, “Thanks for posting and driving home the key points.
It was insightful to read about this methodical and disciplined approach to competition, particularly in a sport that is currently perceived by its core group as being more “fun” and “expressive” than purely competitive.
What is more interesting is not the article itself, but the people who had read the article and twisted/misinterpreted the fundamental message. Hopefully it was through honest misunderstanding and not through blind pride, cultural sensitivity or a sinister agenda.
Even more interesting are the “bandwagon hoppers” who did not even read the article and simply agreed or trusted another person’s interpretation. This is just one of many ways on how Serious Shit(TM) starts between groups of people.”
Twisted/misinterpreted the fundamental message?
Another one said, “The comment is used as a point to note the dramatic and astonishing improvement and change. It’s not racist. The writer of the CIV article is freaking out over nothing. Reminds me of my exes.”
The thing is I don’t see them posting any point-to-point rebuttal on what our blogger here is complaining.
Why is that? Because they employ “reckless disregard of the truth” and “wilful blindness”.
*Do you now understand why the Vancouver airport taser cops don’t think they did anything wrong with Robert Dziekański? Same logic. But how does everyone else feel about it?
And why don’t they come over here to talk about it? Oh yes, we have to wait for “reply moderation” with the threat of banning. That’s why we only talk amongst ourselves here?