This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission.
Police in Beijing have arrested a woman for posting “defamatory” comments about Chinese Olympics athletes following the Aug. 3 women’s singles table tennis final in Paris, where Chinese fans booed reigning table tennis champion Chen Meng.
“Acting in response to reports from the public that some internet users had posted defamatory claims about an athlete and a coach after the women singles table tennis final on Weibo, police quickly launched an investigation and arrested a female suspect, 29 years old, surnamed He,” Beijing’s Daxing district police department said in an update posted to its account on the social media platform Weibo on Tuesday.
“Our investigation revealed that this person maliciously fabricated information and blatantly defamed others, with an adverse impact on society,” the post said.
“Daxing Public Security Bureau has detained He in accordance with the law, and the case is under further investigation.”
While police didn’t give details of the defamatory comments, some Weibo users seemed to assume the arrest was linked to online claims of an inappropriate relationship between Chen and her coach.
Official media outlet The Paper said China’s internet police will also be cracking down on “illegal activities” in online sports fan groups following the table tennis match.
“On the evening of Aug. 3, after the women’s singles final of the Olympic table tennis, some netizens posted attacking and defamatory remarks,” according to a post on the outlet’s Weibo account. “Among them, a netizen posted a post at 2:12 on Aug. 4 defaming an athlete and a coach, causing adverse social impact.”
Sexualized rumors
Comments on the police post said female athletes are often subjected to sexualised rumors, particularly about their relationship with the people who train them.
“Female athletes have been slandered by table tennis fans for a long time,” @UnBouquetDeSoleils wrote, referring to online rumors about Chen and her coach. “I hope these extreme fans who despise the law … can all be dealt with properly so as to provide a good environment in which athletes can develop.”
“It’s our duty to protect the public image of athletes,” wrote @Enter_the_cat_dimensionssss, while @_FlippedSun Rose_ added: “I hope the investigation can continue and catch all those who spread rumors.”
Others mentioned similar rumors around Chen’s opponent in the finals, Sun Yingsha, and one of her trainers, calling for the detention of anyone spreading them.
In the Aug. 3 match, China’s defending champion Chen Meng defeated teammate Sun Yingsha, also world No.1, 4-2, in a replay of their previous encounter in Tokyo three years ago, amid audible cheers for Sun and boos directed at Chen whenever she scored, Reuters reported.
The behavior of the crowd prompted a backlash on social media, with many angry at the behavior. One fan sitting in the arena reportedly gave Chen the middle finger, prompting calls on Weibo for their arrest, too.
Weibo said it had deleted more than 12,000 posts and banned more than 300 accounts over “illegal” comments, Reuters reported.
Other theories about the booing speculated that Chen had defied instructions and refused to let Sun win the match.
“This political arrangement where players were expected to let others win appeared during the Cultural Revolution,” one comment said. “[Former vice premier] He Long once said that the champion would be whomever he wanted it to be.”
“This country, where food and drink are fake, votes in the Great Hall of the People are fake, and even sports events are staged isn’t worthy of her,” the user wrote, suggesting Chen seek foreign nationality like other former Chinese players.
Rigged match?
A news report published by NetEase appeared to give credence to this theory, claiming that the public relations firm Yili had prematurely aired a video celebrating Sun Yingsha’s gold medal on a public screen in Beijing’s Sanlitun district before the match was over.
Yili had publicly apologized for the gaffe, claiming the video was part of a test to “debug” the screen, the article said.
Online comments said the incident suggested that the match was supposed to have been rigged, but that Chen had refused to comply.
RFA was unable to verify any of these claims independently.
Meanwhile, The Paper published a commentary slamming “extreme fan club behavior,” saying it was harmful to athletes and to sports in general.
U.S.-base Chinese journalist Li Dayu said fan culture in itself isn’t harmful, and in China often acts as an outlet for people subjected to strict political censorship.
“It might not be political, but it’s essentially the same thing,” he said. “They can’t say what they want in the political arena, so they can only vent in the area of entertainment.”
“The Communist Party will see this, and will definitely crack down on fans, because they are decentralized,” Li said.
