So much speculation these past few days on the ages of some of the girls on China's Olympic gymnastics team, specifically He Kexin and a fair amount of references to keep it going.
Famous Chinese sports writer and Bullog blogger Wang Xiaoshan has posted a dramatically-titled piece, ‘Fake news kills’, in which he tries his best to knock down the various official Chinese sources being used to substantiate He's underage claim, and makes an earnest (?) plea to overseas media to consider the harm done to those stuck in the crosshairs. Wang, by the way, followed the Olympic torch across most of the country starting with its entry into the mainland in May. Do notice that towards the bottom Wang implicates his own publication and one of China's most-respected magazines in the rampant news fakery that Chinese journalists seem so prone to:
假新闻害死人
假新闻的出现有多种原因，比如记者偷懒调查不实，或者轻信受访者没有核实信息等等，无论什么原因，假新闻的存在都是新闻界的耻辱。值得注意的是，假新闻不止在中国有，在国外也不乏其事，造假者一旦被揭穿，往往得到的是开除的结果，有的甚至会锒铛入狱。
There are many reasons for the appearance of fake news, such as journalists being lazy and not thoroughly investigating, or believing interviewees’ stories without verifying them, etc. Regardless of what the reason, the existence of fake news is the shame of the news industry. What's worth noting is that fake news doesn't only exist in China; there's no shortage of it in other countries as well, and as soon as those fakers are exposed, the result will always be their termination, and some of them even get thrown in jail.
假新闻的危害十分巨大，比如中国女子体操队获得团体金牌后，一些海外媒体就质疑了何可欣的年龄问题，因为奥运会体操项目参赛年龄的下限是16岁，海外媒体怀疑何可欣只有14岁。楚天都市报记者舒展刘雄报道：一位美国媒体的记者先问何可欣到底多大，何可欣回应：“不管别人怎么说，我知道我的真实年龄就是16 岁。”眼看何可欣强硬回击，另一位国外媒体的记者转而去问邓琳琳属相？邓琳琳笑答：“我属猴（注：即1992年生）。”两次“攻击”未果，另一位国外媒体的记者故意问出一个误导性的问题：“何可欣，你15岁的生日是在什么地方过的？”话音未落，在场的媒体都笑出声来。何可欣也不含糊，“我15岁的生日是在队里过的，来了队里，我就很少回家了。”
何可欣肯定不会记错自己的年龄，而国际体联在9日就有明确回应，没有任何证据表明中国体操队员年龄存在问题，那么，假如何可欣的话不错，她应该就是16岁了，这就涉及到很多媒体此前报道的假新闻问题了，兹列举部分如下：
There's no way that He Kexin could have forgotten her own age, and the International Gymnastics Association had a definite answer on the 9th, that there was no proof whatsoever of any problems with the ages of the members of China's gymnastics team; thus, if there be no problem with that He Kexin said, that puts her at 16 years old. This touches on many media's pre-existing problem of making up news, and I'll just list a few:
1、《生活报》2007年11月5日报道：13岁的体操高低杠选手何可欣出色地完成了“李娅空翻”的全套动作，战胜了刚刚获得世锦赛季军的国手杨伊琳。
2、《法制晚报》2008年1月22日报道：记者在平衡木训练场地上看到，13岁的小将何可欣正准备做下一组动作，突然被自己的一阵咳嗽打断……
3、《北京晚报》2007年12月12报道：张佩文口中的“秘密武器”就是最近涌现出的新星何可欣。这名13岁的小将不仅能轻松地完成“李娅空翻”，还在比赛中表现出了与年龄不相符的稳定。
4、搜狐体育 2007年12月1日报道：张佩文口中的秘密武器，原来就是最近涌现出的新星何可欣。这名13岁的小将不仅能轻松地完成“李娅空翻”，还在比赛中表现出了与年龄不相符的稳定。（值得表扬的是，现在该网页已经将“13”改成了“15”，知错就改，善莫大焉。——王小山注）
2. Legal Evening Post, January 22, 2008: On the balance beams training area, the reporter saw 13 year-old newcomer He Kexin preparing her next move, suddenly disrupted by her own coughs……
3. Beijing Evening Post, December 12, 2007: The “secret weapon” mentioned by Zhang Peiwen is none other than the recently-appeared new star He Kexin. At just 13, this newcomer has not only completed the “Li Ya Flying Flip” with ease, but performs in competitions with unusual stability for someone her age.
4. Sohu Sports, December 1, 2007: Zhang Peiwen's secret weapon is none other than new star He Kexin. At just 13, this newcomer has not only completed the “Li Ya Flying Flip” with ease, but performs in competitions with unusual stability for someone her age. (Worth praising here is that now the “13” has already been changed to “15”, so they knew there was an error, and you have to give them that. —Wang Xiaoshan)
5、《长江商报》2007年12月1日报道：13岁的体操高低杠选手何可欣相当漂亮地完成“李娅空翻”的全套动作，战胜刚刚获得世锦赛季军的国手杨伊琳。
6、新华社2007年11月3日的一张照片说明部分文字：13岁的武汉选手何可欣在女子高低杠比赛中的对手是国家队的杨伊琳。
7、《人民日报》2007年11月3日报道：13岁的何可欣在女子体操比赛中出色地完成高低杠“李姮空翻”。
6. Xinhua, Nov. 3, 2007: A photo whose caption reads: Thirteen year-old athlete from Wuhan He Kexin's opponent in the girls’ uneven bars competition will be the national team's Yang Yilin.
7. People's Daily, Nov. 3, 2007: Thirteen year-old He Kexin spectacularly completed the “Li Ya Flying Flip” on the girls’ uneven bars gymnastics competition.
说明一下，以上报道时间都是各媒体在网站上标注的时间，实际报道时间以纸媒为准。这些例子并不完全，应该说，这些对何可欣进行报道的记者起码没做到核实信息的工作，何可欣认为自己的年龄是16岁（2007年应该15岁），而这么多记者居然都报道成了14岁（2008年），《法制晚报》更是搞成了13岁（2008年），可见中国媒体假新闻之多，到了可怕的程度。搞错一个运动员的年龄不要紧，但给了海外媒体抹黑中国体操事业的口实，实在是得不偿失。
奥运火炬传递时，我跟踪采访，路过一个城市，和当地教育界的朋友闲谈，得知该城市高考作弊现象十分严重，让人痛心，朋友说，他痛心的还不只是作弊现象普遍发生会造成不公平，而是使一个城市的一代人以不诚实的方式迈出人生第一步，这等于是毁了城市的未来——我深以为然。海外媒体如何且不去管它，记者们不准确的报道，会不会给我们年龄不大的运动员带来心理阴影呢？
更多请见体育画报网和财经网奥运频道。
During the Olympic torch relay, I tagged along and did interviews, and as we passed through one city, I had a casual chat with a friend teaching there. I learned that cheating on the gaokao is a hugely serious there, quite painful just to hear about. My friend said, the thing that hurts him the most isn't how unfair a situation the widespread incidents of cheating have made, it's that there's a whole generation whose first step into life is a dishonest one, and it's effectively destroying the city's future—and I completely agree. If foreign media go on like this and we just ignore it, journalists’ inaccurate reporting, aren't we just doing harmful psychological number on our younger athletes?
For more, see SportsIllustratedNet and CaijingNet's Olympics channels.
30 comments
Thanks for finding this, John. But alas, it’s more than the media saying these things. Over at Huffington Post David Flumenbaugh has a city government competition register that also says she’s too young.
An official gymnastics roster dated January 27, 2006 published by the Chengdu government for its City Games, a competition in which He competed. As you’ll see from the translated version I have provided, He Kexin’s date of birth, according to these government documents, is January 1, 1994.
A copy of the register is there.
Michael Turton
Sorry Jade, the IOC has so far refused to check the qualifications of Chinese gymnasts in Beijing.
The officers were fooled in Australia at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, where Chinese gymnast Yang Yun was listed as being 16 but was admitted years later to only being 14 at the time she won her bronze medals.
As for your first point, I’m afraid I have to point out your misunderstanding of China’s media outlets:
Less than a month later, on December 2, 2007, the commercial Beijing Evening News reported independently that He Kexin’s age was 13. The report, which bears the byline of journalist Liu Xiaoxing (刘晓星) and does not come from Xinhua, begins:
As the Olympic Games draw closer, China’s gymnastics team has begun active preparations for competition, and coach Zhang Peiwen says the men’s team’s old leader Li Xiaopeng has returned to form, and that the female team has reconsolidated its strength on the uneven bars, with 13 year-old junior team member He Kexin possibly to become the secret weapon at the Olympics.
The article repeats further down: “The ’secret weapon’ Zhang Peiwen refers to is recently emerged star He Kexin. This 13 year-old junior team member can not only complete a [difficult manouever/”李娅空翻”], but displays a steadiness in performance inconsistent with her age.”
Thanks to David Bandurski at China Media Project for the above information, which is from this article:
http://cmp.hku.hk/2008/08/15/1177/
There is in reality very little “fake news” in the west, while there is inaccurate news, for varied reasons. The lack of openness and accuracy in China, for Chinese “fake news”, is the significant contributing factor.
Jade, the IOC and IGA are not easy to fool, but they know when they are being lied to. They really have no option when the athletes passport states a date. In this case a new passport was issued by the Chinese govt earlier this year and the old passport, which is understood to have a different year of birth, has been refused to be provided by the Chinese govt. Supposedly there was a claim by Chinese officials was there was previously a typo in the old passport, which the IGA has a copy of, and it had to be re-issued, much like her hukou card.
When He Kexin graduates from high school in four years, how many senior party leaders will attend?
The David Bandurski article is an excellent overview of independent Chinese sources, unless of course they too are in on this “foreign conspiracy” against the Chinese gymnastics team, or they copied each other.
Obviously the only evidence you need is some media before 2007 reporting that He Kexin is the correct age in time for 2008.
Everyone always say that China daily or Xinhua have poor journalism ethics and report false information. But now that this happens, China daily and Xinhua no longer are the roots of all lies and misinformation, they become a legitimate source that can’t possibly be wrong because of their non fact-checking journalism.
I am just wondering, have the american won the Gold medal..would this “underage news” be given much attention like the drug taking korean,italian and oops the american ?…hahaha..pity the american.
what has this got to do with america and bush? you people should just keep to the point of the article.shame on your for not reining in your hate.i’m not from the west,btw.
信不信由你
@ Andrew — The Associated Press dug up provincial records showing some of the Chinese gymnasts to be underaged a bit before the Olympics started, which is what set off a string of journalists looking after this issue.
@ Mulan — There has long been great concerns about how young girls are treated by gymnastics coaches. This is not a Beijing 2008 issue. This was an issue in the 80s and 90s, in both Eastern Europe and in America. Severe restriction of food and eating disorders was one issue. I remember reading a book that absolutely slammed the Americans for it.
I believe the reason it applies to this sport and not others (note the 14-year-old British boy on the diving team) is because female gymnastics does particularly lend itself to having the smallest people possible, and was considered to be particularly open to abuses. And, speaking of the British boy, there was debate in the U.K. over whether it would be dangerous to push someone of his age to compete.
And, really, name-calling doesn’t help.
An examination by a medical doctor along with one from a dentist should be able to pinpoint with surprising accuracy the age of a growing child. If there is any controversy about the age of an Olympic participant, this should be a requirement, either just before the competition begins or immediately afterward.
Too bad the Boy who Cried Wolf was never translated into Chinese, apparently.
Second Michael. When official rosters list you as being born in 1994, it’s kind of difficult to just make that disappear.
Deng Linlin is listed in the same roster as being born in 1992, which I do not doubt.