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How far is it from a soccer star to a political dissident? Maybe it’s just a thought. Chinese soccer star Hao Haidong, once hailed as the “number one striker in Asia,” has come under the spotlight for his political comments posted on overseas social networks on June 4. On June 4, a video of Hao Haidong’s nearly half an hour “Declaration on the founding of the New China Federation” was widely circulated on the overseas Internet.
In terms of content, G*********, a wealthy Chinese businessman living in exile in the US, and Stephen Bannon, a former White House strategic adviser, are the “directors” behind the manifesto. During the broadcast, after Mr. Hao’s announcement, Mr. Bannon read the manifesto in English.
Some German media pointed out that Hao Haidong seems to have joined the “revelation revolution” initiated by G*********. The report also said that Hao’s teammates at the time confirmed the authenticity of the manifesto video, saying that what was seen in the video was indeed Hao Haidong, and that they were “shocked” by his behavior today.
It was only Hao Haidong’s teammates who were “shocked”. The shocking move of Hao Haidong and his wife made it difficult for many people who saw the video, especially the fans of the two people to accept and understand. “What happened to them? That’s the question a lot of people have.
Hao Haidong, A legendary figure in Chinese football, has won the top scorer of the Chinese Football League three times and won the championship of the League A five times. From 1992 to 2004, Hao Haidong played 115 times for the Chinese national men’s football team, scoring 41 goals, including 39 goals in FIFA A competitions, and ranked first in the history of the Chinese national team in total goals.
On May 9, 2020, Hao Haidong’s 50th birthday, FIFA officials also sent him a blessing. FIFA’s official Weibo account said: “He was the flag of the national football team in the 1990s, he was hailed as the ‘first striker in Asia’, he is also a football icon in the eyes of a generation, I wish ‘Hao Dong’ happy birthday.”
“Hao Dong” is the nickname on the Chinese Internet for Mr. Hao, who is also known as “Hao Cannon.”
Titan Sports Weekly, a well-known traditional sports media in China, and Hupu, a well-known sports website, both issued statements at the first time, saying that Hao Haidong publicly published overseas statements subverting the government and damaging China’s sovereignty, and would stop all reports and discussions on Hao Haidong. Hao Haidong’s Weibo social media account, which has more than 7 million “followers”, was also banned.
In the Chinese football world, Hao Haidong is known as a “cannon” both on and off the pitch. He not only often targets the Chinese football world and the Chinese Football Association, but also occasionally criticizes the current problems on the Internet and fights with netizens who disagree with him. In the past more than a month, Hao Haidong has used the most self-invented new word — “maggot fast chain”, which he uses to counter the Internet users who attack him with different opinions and come to scold.
One of his most popular phrases of late is “No snowflake is innocent in an avalanche.”
Hao Haidong called the netizens who came to provoke “brain damage, trolls, flies and maggots”, and the netizens who responded to Hao Haidong accused him of “hating the National Party, Muyang dogs, illiterate public knowledge and traitors”. During the COVID-19 epidemic, he was also involved in an online war of abuse over Fang Fang’s “Fang Fang diary”. Many on social media accused Mr. Hao of being a member of the “national hate Party” by courting “traitors who slander the government.”
He retired at the golden age of 26 because of the “letting the ball go incident” in the team during the 2000 Sydney Olympics — deliberately losing to another Chinese athlete in the semifinals and eventually winning a bronze medal. After leaving the military, she went to Tsinghua University and gave up working in the system after graduation. “I just want freedom,” she said. “Freedom is the best.”
Hao Haidong repeatedly stressed in the live video that he was not angry because of the bad life, and now it is completely “from the heart.” But more voices believe that Hao Haidong’s performance is more like being brainwashed by some anti-Communist remarks in an overseas Internet environment for many years, coupled with a personal experience (including his wife’s experience), a bias against the Chinese system, and a lack of historical perspective on issues, to thrust into the spotlight of political performance today.
For G********* and Bannon, there are views that it is obvious that in the context of the confrontation between China and the United States, they feel that they have space for political manipulation, in order to win more eyeballs and obtain political chips. But the reality is that the public and public opinion no longer care about their actions, even if the “Hao cannon” is pushed to the front today, the final result may be no more than a political farce.
However, the Hao Haidong couple, one can enter the palace of Chinese football history, one was elected to the Badminton World Federation Hall of Fame, but became G********* political farce in the “chess pieces”, deplorable.
