Beijing is launching a crackdown on “aggressive followers” who it claims are influencing Chinese athletes ‘ performances at the Paris Olympics, the most recent example of its ongoing fight against star devotion.
In recent days, state advertising studies have called out “inappropriate” behavior, such as fans booing during occasions or accusing referees of being unfair.
This “fan society”, they said, reached a maximum on 3 August when kayaker Chen Meng defeated partner Sun Yingsha to earn gold in the table tennis children’s songs.
Despite her defeat, the Chinese internet exploded in assistance for Ms. Sun, with some criticizing Ms. Chen’s success, claiming that she only won because Ms. Sun had exhausted herself from three previous events.
Tens of thousands of articles have been deleted from Chinese social media platforms, and over 800 accounts have been banned for supposedly spreading rumors about the event and encouraging issue.
One of Ms Sun’s fans wrote that she “wishes Chen tests positive for a banned substance, then the gold medal can go to]Sun ]”, sparking anger online.
A 29-year-old lady was also detained for making disparaging remarks about the game.
Although it’s unclear what she said, police said on Tuesday that she “maliciously fabricated data and flagrantly defamed people, which adversely affected world.”
This is the latest in Beijing’s crackdown on what it calls” toxic” celebrity culture.
Recently, China has seen the banning of superstar rankings, the reform of lover clubs, and the typical scrubbing of “harmful” material from fan pages.
In the last few weeks, the state-run Global Times paper published some papers denouncing “fan society” in sports.
According to one of its reports, “numerous Chinese folks” are now concerned about” the clearly aggressive fan tradition that threatens to weaken the sporting world.”
Authorities have also criticized fans who cheer noisily or use flash pictures during games and those who profit from selling athlete-signed memorabilia.
” The]fan tradition] not only affects the education and competition of Chinese players, but also significantly affects the reputation of Chinese activities”, state news agency Xinhua said in a video statement on Wednesday.
A commentary was published by Shanghai Daily that urged sporting organizations to “take a firm stance against… fan mania” and social media platforms to “enforce strict policies against malicious behavior.”
Chinese authorities had warned against “fan culture” even before the Paris Olympics.
Following numerous instances of them filming and following athletes, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the General Administration of Sport of China issued ultimatums to fans late last year.
In a joint statement, they said,” It seems that these “low-level fans” are motivated by their love for idols and impulsively take irrational actions that threaten the normal course of events, public order, good behavior, sportsmanship, and social morality.”
The committee urged Chinese Olympians to avoid joining fan organizations ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, adding that it wants to “resolutely put an end to the spread of the chaos of fan culture to the field of sports.”
The athletes themselves have stated that they want to be treated with “respect.” Veteran table tennis player Deng Yaping, for instance, had urged fans to “express our preferences without attacking others”.
She added:” We must respect each other and leave space for everyone”.
Ian Tang provided additional reporting.