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Chinese diver denied knowledge of grandparents’ death, mother’s cancer until after Olympics
By Bruce Arthur, Postmedia August 2, 2012
Source from :
http://www.canada.com/health/Chinese+diver+never+knew+Mother+cancer+grandparents+death+until+after+Olympics/7030672/story.html
LONDON - One of the best moments of these Olympics belonged to a 55-year-old big sweaty South African named Bert le Clos. His son Chad had just won a gold medal in the 200-metre butterfly, and Bert had been yanked onto the BBC, and he couldn't contain himself. The anchor asked him a question but really, Bert just bubbled like a fountain, the happiest man alive.
"Wow, this is unbelievable! Look at him! And he's beautiful," said Bert, in his grizzled Muppet's voice. "Look at him! What a beautiful boy! Sorry, sorry ... He's unbelievable. He's committed like you cannot believe. He's the most down-to-earth beautiful boy you will ever meet in your life. Look at him, look at him, he's crying like me. I love him! Oh my God."
It was beautiful. There are parents all over at these Games, because to be a great athlete often requires sacrifice from your parents, and there is no greater love than the love of your child. People made fun of the parents of American gymnast Aly Raisman as they contorted themselves during her routine, but kids can make parents do crazy things. Some parents start crazy, of course, but the distinction can be tricky to make.
Then there is the story that was written in the Shanghai Morning Post, which spoke to the parents of Chinese diver Wu Minxia, who won gold in the 3-metre springboard for the third consecutive Olympics. Her mother and father travelled to London to watch her dive. They had not spoken to their daughter in London. They almost never do.
"We never tell her what's happening at home," Wu Jueming told the paper, as translated by The Vancouver Sun. "We even kept the news that her grandparents died from her. When grandma died, [Wu] seemed almost like she had a premonition, and she called us asking if she was okay. We had to lie; we told her, 'everything's okay.'"
"It's been like this for so many years. We long ago realized that our daughter doesn't belong to us completely. Enjoying the company of family? I don't think about it. I don't dare think about it."
It took a year for Wu to find out her grandparents had died; she presumably will find out now. One quote in there was translated by the Agence France-Press as "We've known for years that our daughter doesn't belong to us any more," but either way, it's so terribly sad. Wu Jueming told the paper he and his wife covered up his wife's breast cancer for eight years as she fought it; they told their daughter it was a less serious, non life-threatening condition.
According to the newspaper, since arriving in London they have sent Wu a text message telling her they are safe, and have followed her via Weibo, which is the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. They carry cellphones everywhere, in case she calls. They stay online all the time, in case she writes. They obsessively read and re-read everything she writes on Weibo for clues to how she is doing.
As Wu Jueming said, "We know her [tweets] can't give us much information, but reading them ensures that we are at peace. If we see she's okay, then we are happy ... She doesn't call a lot. She's too busy training. We understand that. But if we just have a little bit of connection with her, we're happy."
China is achieving incredible things at these Olympics. The Chinese have already won gold in diving, fencing, weightlifting, table tennis, shooting, swimming and artistic gymnastics. They are assured gold in badminton. They were wrestling at the top of the medal table with the Americans, as they did four years ago.
This is all part of Project 119, the gold-seeking state athletics program China put in place after being awarded the Beijing Games in 2001. Money, facilities, coaching, the works. China won 51 gold medals in Beijing, and was only behind the United States in the overall medal count. Think of how proud Canadians are when we win a medal. It is surely the same there.
But what an awful human cost, made all the more heartbreaking by China's one-child policy, which has been in effect since 1979. Part of the program is identifying future athletes as young as five years old - Wu was six - and streaming them into sports academies. Eventually they leave home. The pressure is intense, and the work is intense, and the best become the best.
One British-born swim coach employed by China wrote anonymously in The Guardian that "Chinese athletes train incredibly hard, harder than I can explain in words and as a coach who has placed swimmers on five different Olympic Games teams, I have never seen athletes train like this anywhere in the world ... Let's also not forget that this is their only avenue for income; most do not study and sport offers them a way out or a way up from where they and their families currently live in society. If their swimming fails, they fail and the family loses face."
It is surely more complicated than outsiders believe, more nuanced. Children and parents all over the world sacrifice for a better life; ask a cab driver or a nanny or a labourer whose family is across the world. Wu Minxia is just one athlete, and there is no guarantee that her story is representative of that of every Chinese athlete. We do not know exactly why she does not call more, or write more. We just know that Bert got to shout his joy from the parapets, and Wu Jueming did not.
Instead, in London Wu's parents walked around, trying not to obsess over their daughter, but her father told the Morning Post that whenever they saw a landmark, they wished they could share it with her. They, too, were proud; as they watched their daughter win gold, Wu's mother was weeping, and her father was trying not to. Wu Jueming told the paper the lies he told his daughter were essential for her training, and he said one more thing. He said, "It's not easy for her, either."
No. No, it probably is not.
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發表於 12-7-31 13:31
