Jin Jing

Infobox athlete biography
athletename = Jin Jing


fullname =
dateofbirth = 1981
cityofbirth = Hefei, Anhui
countryofbirth = People's Republic of China
dateofdeath =
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current position =
current team =
years with team =
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previous teams = Shanghai Wheelchair Fencing Team (2001-?)
Chinese National Wheelchair Fencing Team (2005-2007)
years as player =
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years as coach =
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Jin Jing (Chinese: 金晶; Pinyin: Jīn Jīng; born in 1981 in Hefei, Anhui, Chinacite web|url=http://ah.anhuinews.com/system/2008/04/10/001989462.shtml|title=“最美火炬手”原是合肥女孩！|publisher=Anhuinews.com|date=2008-04-10|accessdate=2008-04-15|author=Chang Guoshui and Xiang Lei|language=Simplified Chinese] ) is a Chinese female, Paralympic fencer. She was a torchbearer carrying the Olympic torch amid political protests during the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay in Paris, France. According to "ABC News", she fended off protestors who "threw themselves" at her; most were wrestled away by French police but at least one reached her wheelchair and tried to wrench the torch away.cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4634434&page=1|title=Disabled Torch Bearer Becomes Chinese Hero|publisher=ABC News|date=2008-04-11|accessdate=2008-04-14|author=Emma Graham-Harrison] Jin has gained national fame in China because of the incident,cite web|url=http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Olympic-Torch-Relay-Beijing-Beijing-Olympic-Games/ss/events/sp/040708olympictorch/im:/080411/photos_ts/2008_04_11t083102_306x450_us_china_olympics_rage/|title=Olympic Torch Relay|publisher=Yahoo News|date=2008-04-11|accessdate=2008-04-14|author=Sally Huang] but was attacked on Chinese internet bulletin boards for her stance in the following Carrefour boycott. In contrast, Western media concentrated on how the incident involving Jin Jing ignited Chinese nationalism and was exploited for propaganda purposes by the state media."Jin Jing, la handicapée médaille d'or de la guerre des images", "Marianne", April 26, 2008, p.22] cite web
url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i5XsY8GC20KstkLBljyVXruvU2rgD903QCVO1
title=The Associated Press: China's Olympic torch defender speaks out
publisher=ap.google.com
accessdate=2008-05-01
last=
first=]

Family and personal life

Jin Jing's parents are wage earners. Her father is Jin Jiansheng (Chinese: 金建生), a rusticated youth who moved from Shanghai to Anhui during the Cultural Revolution. In Anhui, Mr. Jin married Liu Huayao (Chinese: 刘华瑶), Jin's mother. Jin was born in 1981, in Hefei, Anhui, and she also has a younger sister, Jin Renyu (Chinese: 金任钰).cite web|url=http://www.chinanews.com.cn/olympic/news/2008/04-14/1220120.shtml|title=金晶回家先上舞台 妹妹不开心：本想给她做蛋汤|publisher=Chinanews.com.cn|date=2008-04-14|accessdate=2008-04-15|author=Zhang Zhongjiang|language=Simplified Chinese]

Jin had part of her right leg amputated in 1989 when she was in elementary school after a malignant tumor was found on her ankle and later underwent a year of chemotherapy. Jin Jing moved to Shanghai with her family in 1995 and studied information technology in a technical secondary school. After graduation, she worked as a telephone operator in a hotel in Shanghai and is currently unemployed.cite web|url=http://www.chinanews.com.cn/ty/zhty/news/2008/04-10/1217412.shtml|title=平凡金晶还没有男朋友 十运会后月收入不足千元|publisher=Chinanews.com.cn|date=2008-04-10|accessdate=2008-04-15|author=Zhang Zhongjiang|language=Simplified Chinese] Jin is currently single.

Career

On July 13, 2001, the day when Beijing was elected the host city for 2008 Summer Olympics, Jin Jing became a member of the Shanghai Wheelchair Fencing Team. Later on she joined the Chinese National Wheelchair Fencing Team.cite web|url=http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/cn/journey/paris/news/n214297194.shtml|title=残疾人火炬手金晶用残缺身体保护奥运圣火顺利传递|publisher=The Official Website of the Torch Relay|date=2008-04-08|accessdate=2008-04-15|language=Simplified Chinese]

Her career as a fencer is summarized in the following table:

On May 6th 2008, Jin Jing was named as the ambassador of a Paralympic cheering group to help publicize Paralympic sports worldwide in the runup to the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. [cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/06/content_8117013.htm|title=Jin Jing becomes ambassador of Paralympic cheering group|publisher=Xinhua NEWS|date=2008-05-06|accessdate=2008-05-06]

On September 6, she brought the Paralympic torch into the Bird's Nest stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games. [ [http://www.danwei.org/front_page_of_the_day/jin_jing_paralympics.php "Jin Jing the torch bearer returns"] , "Danwei", August 29, 2008] [ [http://www.cbc.ca/sports/paralympics/story/2008/09/06/paralympics-ceremony.html "Paralympics opening shows what can be achieved"] , CBC, September 6, 2008] [ [http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/paralympics/2008-09/09/content_7012429.htm "Lovely girl Jin Jing"] , Xinhua, September 9, 2009] On this occasion, she "made headlines in the Chinese media", according to the Agence France-Presse. [ [http://www.france24.com/fr/20080830-chine-escrimeuse-handicapee-fiasco-flamme-paris-relais-jeux-paralympiques "L'héroïne chinoise du passage de la flamme à Paris à l'honneur"] , Agence France-Presse, August 30, 2008 (with France 24 video)]

2008 Summer Olympics torch relay

In 2007, Jin Jing turned up for a selective trial, titled "You Are the Torchbearer", which was organized by China Central Television, and was chosen to be an Olympic torchbearer. On April 7, 2008, she was the third torchbearer carrying the Olympic Flame during the relay in Paris, amidst protests and physical attempts to snatch the torch by demonstrators.cite web|url=http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/journey/paris/news/n214297268.shtml|title=Torchbearer exhibits courage in Paris |publisher=The Official Website of the Torch Relay |date=2008-04-08|accessdate=2008-04-15] cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-china12apr12,1,4480516.story|title=Anger is growing in China over Olympics Protests|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=2008-04-12|accessdate=2008-04-14|author=Ni Ching-Ching] According to "ABC News", "Protesters denouncing Chinese policy in Tibet threw themselves at Jin. Most were wrestled away by police but at least one reached her wheelchair and tried to wrench the torch away." Jin was quoted by the state-run newspaper "China Daily" as saying that she "would die to protect the torch."cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-04/14/content_6614357.htm|title=Golden girl lifts a nation|publisher=China Daily|author=Liu Wei|date=2008-04-14|accessdate=2008-04-16] The International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge commented on the incident, saying, "What shocked me most is when someone tried to rob the torch off a wheelchair athlete, a disabled athlete who was unable to defend the torch. This is unacceptable."

On her arrival back to Beijing, after the Paris relay, Jin was interviewed by "Sohu". Of her experience of the relay, she said:

Commenting on Tibet itself in interviews, she said she knew little of politics before encountering the demonstrations in Paris, and had never heard of the pro-Tibet independence movement. When asked by the UK's "The Daily Telegraph" she also said, "My opinion before was that Tibet was an inseparable part of our country, now I hold this point more firmly than before."cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2008/04/12/uboly112.xml|title=Disabled girl becomes China's Olympic heroine|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|date=2008-04-12|accessdate=2008-04-16|author=Richard Spencer]

Jin has been celebrated first on internet bulletin boards and soon in Chinese media.cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1729169,00.html|title=China's View of the Olympic Torch War|publisher=Time|date=2008-04-09|accessdate=2008-04-15|author=Ramzy Austin] [cite web|url=http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200804/20080409/article_355239.htm|title=Touche: Assailant meets match|publisher=Shanghai Daily|date=2008-04-09|accessdate=2008-04-15|author=Lydia Chen] [cite web|url=http://www.cctv.com/english/20080410/104102.shtml|title=Handicapped girl wins respect for protecting sacred flame|publisher=CCTV|date=2008-04-14|accessdate=2008-04-15|author=Zhang Ning] cite web|url=http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/torchbearers/headlines/n214305373.shtml|title=Jin Jing's back home in Shanghai!|publisher=The Official Website of the Torch Relay|date=2008-04-10|accessdate=2008-04-15] She was treated to a hero's welcome upon her return to Beijing and China's news reports described her as the "Smiling Angel in Wheelchair" and the "Most Beautiful Torchbearer".cite web|url=http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/10/875154.aspx|title= China's 'Smiling Angel in Wheelchair"|publisher=MSNBC|date=2008-04-10|accessdate=2008-04-10|author=Ed Flanagan] cite web|url=http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/torchbearers/headlines/n214298691.shtml|title=Photos: Heroic torchbearer Jin Jing back in Beijing|publisher=The Official Website of the Torch Relay|date=2008-04-09|accessdate=2008-04-15|author=Ma Hailin] cite web|url=http://torchrelay.beijing2008.cn/en/torchbearers/headlines/n214299534.shtml|title=Chinese angel comes home|publisher=The Official Website of the Torch Relay|date=2008-04-10|accessdate=2008-04-15] According to Canada's "The Globe and Mail", initially the state media of China censored all reports on the torch protests and the incident involving Jin Jing, but it soon reported on the protest and portrayed China as the victim, thus appealing to patriotic sentiments.cite web|url=http://ago.mobile.globeandmail.com/generated/archive/RTGAM/html/20080411/wchina0412.html|title=China spins protests abroad to buttress support at home|publisher=The Globe and Mail|date=2008-04-12|accessdate=2008-04-15|author=Geoffrey York] The UK's "The Times" wrote that Chinese media coverage of the Paris leg of the relay was "reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution when propaganda organs were able to whip up the public into a frenzy of rage over an issue of their choice."cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article3732204.ece|title=Chinese media provokes outrage over pro-Tibet Olympics protests|publisher=The Times|date=2008-04-12|accessdate=2008-04-15|author=Jane Macartney] "The Associated Press" wrote that Jin is "now known as a defender of China's dignity" and joins "a list of heroes promoted by the communist government's propaganda authorities", while "The Sydney Morning Herald" called her a "new heroine in China" by whom Beijing "is trying to claw back one or two propaganda points from the torch's recent rocky progress." [cite web
url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/chinas-propaganda-flameout/2008/04/11/1207856831651.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2
title=China's propaganda flame-out - World - smh.com.au
publisher=smh.com.au
accessdate=2008-05-01
last=
first=] The French magazine "Marianne" devoted a full page to her in its April 26 edition, and commented that the Chinese flame attendants were "strangely" absent when Jin carried the torch, leaving it up to the French police alone to guard Jin and her companions. But according to the interview Jin gave to "Sohu" on April 9, she was waiting to accept the flame as the third torchbearer, and security was "relatively light" around her, when the protestors "began lunging" at her. "Marianne" wrote that Jin's story had become a "legend skillfully propagated" by the Chinese media: "Images of Jin Jing holding the torch against her heart, her eyes closed in her lovely face, are being shown over and over on CCTV and are inflaming the Chinese Internet," making Jin famous for "hundreds of millions of Chinese viewers and netizens." The French newspaper "Le Figaro" published an analysis of what it referred to as "the Jin Jing phenomenon": "The media have been drumming into people's heads the story of this young woman who became, in the space of an incident in Paris, the symbol of Chinese pride in the face of Western hostility. The actions of the media bore their fruit, and the 'angel in a wheelchair' has generated unprecedented enthusiasm in China and among Chinese communities all over the world." [ [http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2008/04/21/01003-20080421ARTFIG00495-l-etrange-histoire-du-phenomene-jin-jing.php "L'étrange histoire du «phénomène Jin Jing»"] , Samuel Laurent, "Le Figaro", April 21, 2008]

The event involving Jin Jing in Paris sparked outrage around China, and Chinese citizens started to urge on the internet for a boycott of French goods and businesses, and touted to "hunt down" the protester who accosted Jin and "teach him a lesson."cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7347918.stm|title=Carrefour faces China boycott bid|publisher=BBC News|date=2008-04-15|accessdate=2008-04-15] cite web|url=http://washingtontimes.com/article/20080415/FOREIGN/871683123/1003|title=Chinese citizens organize boycott of French goods|publisher=The Washington Times|date=2008-04-15|accessdate=2008-04-15|author=Chris O'Brien] cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=6805a872-4db0-4f2b-a375-793b7bf97448&k=61122|title=Chinese web awash with calls for boycott of French goods|publisher=Canada.com|date=2008-04-15|accessdate=2008-04-15|author=Aileen McCabe] On April 21, two weeks after the incident, Jin received a personal letter from French president Nicolas Sarkozy, delivered by Senate President Christian Poncelet. In the letter Sarkozy referred to the attack as "intolerable", and said he "condemns it with the utmost force." [cite web|url=http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D90661FG0&show_article=1|title=Sarkozy apologies to disabled China athlete attacked in torch relay|publisher=Associate Press|date=2008-04-21|accessdate=2008-04-21|] [ [http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/monde/322388.FR.php "«Chère mademoiselle Jin Jing, je voudrais vous dire toute mon émotion...»"] , "Libération", April 28, 2008] [ [http://www.lexpress.fr/info/infojour/reuters.asp?id=69405&1134 "Sarkozy invite Jin Jing, malmenée lors du passage de la flamme"] , "L'Express", April 21, 2008] [ [http://www.lemonde.fr/web/panorama/0,11-0,32-1036416@1-10002,0.html "La lettre de M. Sarkozy à l'athlète Jin Jing vise à apaiser la colère chinoise"] , "Le Monde", April 21, 2008] Xinhua reported that Jin was "very glad to be invited by President Sarkozy to France" and that she "hope [d] to contribute her own efforts to cementing the Sino-France friendship". [ [http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/21/content_8020551.htm "French Senate President conveys Sarkozy's sympathy note to Chinese torch bearer"] , Xinhua, April 21, 2008] However, Jin also expressed her disappointment to the press later that Sarkozy "expressed regret, shock and condemnation but no apology." [cite web|url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3283036,00.html|title=Sarkozy writes to Chinese torch-bearer|publisher=www.dw-world.de|date=2008-04-22|accessdate=2008-04-22|]

On September 18, 2008, Jin was received by President Sarkozy at the Palais de l'Elysée. Sarkozy publicly stated that he was "very happy to greet [her] ", and praised her "exemplary courage". [ [http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2008/09/18/nicolas-sarkozy-recoit-l-athlete-chinoise-handicapee-bousculee-a-paris_1096949_3224.html "Nicolas Sarkozy recoit l'athlète chinoise handicapée bousculée à Paris"] , "Le Monde", September 18, 2008] Reuters, describing Jin as a "nationalist icon", reported that the incident in Paris had "caused a diplomatic rift between China and France that Sarkozy has been at pains to mend ever since", and that his hosting of Jin at the Elysée palace was a means of "heal [ing] [the] rift". [ [http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSLI12089520080918 "Sarkozy hosts Chinese torchbearer to heal rift"] , Reuters, September 18, 2008]

Boycott of Carrefour

In April 2008, amidst calls in China to boycott French retailer Carrefour to show anger towards France and the experience Jin Jing had in Paris, Jin said she does not want people to boycott Carrefour since most of its employees are Chinese and they will be first affected. [cite web
url=http://dfdaily.eastday.com/d/20080418/u1a422278.html
title= 金晶:家乐福还有很多中国员工 [图]
publisher=www.eastday.com
date=2008-04-18
accessdate=2008-04-21
language = Chinese simplified
author=张宴飞] She also spoke in support of "Chinese people's friendship with the French", wished the best for French athletes at the Beijing Olympics, and added: "We Chinese people will certainly welcome French people and athletes to China with a tolerant, friendly and passionate attitude." [ [http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/21/content_8020551.htm "French Senate President conveys Sarkozy's sympathy note to Chinese torch bearer"] , Xinhua, April 21, 2008] She had received a couple of personal attacks on Chinese bulletin boards, though her popularity is still considered very high. So far, she is still called "The Angel in Wheelchair". cite web
url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/ausland/artikel/610/170115/
title="China vor den Olympischen Spielen. Der Hass trifft selbst die Helden"
publisher=Sueddeutsche Zeitung
date=2008-04-18
accessdate=2008-04-22
language=German] cite web
url=http://www.astronomy.com.cn/x/html/99/t-89999.html
title= 金晶姑娘呼吁网友别抵制家乐福，被打成汉奸
date=2008-04-18
accessdate=2008-04-21
language=Chinese simplified] cite web
url=http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2008/04/nationalists-paris-torch-relay-hero-now-a-traitor/
title="Hero to Traitor: The Difference a Day Makes"
publisher=China Digital Times
date=2008-04-19
accessdate=2008-04-23
language=English]

Life Change of the "Angel in a Wheelchair"

Before Jin Jing participated torch relay, she just lost her job and received less than $200 stipend a month for helping training paralympic fencers. Fact|date=September 2008

Now she got numerous job offers. She refused many jobs with good pays. She said that she did not want to take the torch relay incident for personal advantages. She accepted the position as an ordinary worker in the municipal government, since the job had been applied and in the process before the torch relay. Fact|date=September 2008

When as a hotel phone operator, she received hundreds of phone calls everyday, not a single for her. After she was back from the torch relay, she had to switch off her cellular phone, with too many calls to her from everywhere in the country. Fact|date=September 2008

References

ee also

*Chinese nationalism
*Internet in the People's Republic of China
*Media of the People's Republic of China
*Paralympic sports
*Propaganda in the People's Republic of China
*Sports in China
*Sinophobia
*Francophobia

External links

* [http://www.dailymotion.com/fr/cluster/news/featured/video/x4ztb8_la-flamme-olympique-chahutee-a-pari_news/ Video of the Jin Jing incident in Paris]
* [http://sirenesjj.blog.sohu.com/ Jin Jing's blog: Start from the spirit] (in Chinese)
* [http://pp.sohu.com/user/20765388 Jin Jing's album]
*Louisa Lim [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89521869&ft=1&f=1001 Protests Boost Chinese Torchbearers' Resolve] National Public Radio, April 10,2008