2013-07-27

Negative Social Mood Directed At Chinese Soccer Team

Here's good coverage of the mid-June thrashing of the Chinese national team at the hands of a Thai team using seven replacements from the youth team.

Why Chinese Hate Their Men’s Soccer Team
A sizable number of fans found their way down to the team bus and blocked it from leaving while chanting furiously, sometimes obscenely, about the coach, the team and the human anatomy they all resemble. A riot ensued, injuring at least 100 people, according to the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.

...If anything, things may have gotten worse. In 2011, when the Chinese were eliminated from the qualifying rounds for the 2014 World Cup by war-ravaged Iraq, it was regarded as the latest worst loss in the nation’s soccer history. But a loss to Thailand, a country that most Chinese view as a geopolitical inferior subject to Chinese influence, kindles popular frustration at the gap between China’s rise to the top of the geopolitical heap over the last decades and the lack of what some Chinese view as tangible benefits for themselves.

...Over the weekend, a faux dialogue between a Chinese soccer fan and a Thai one appeared on Sina Weibo, in various versions and edits. Its origin is uncertain, but not its popularity: It has been forwarded and tweeted thousands of times. In it, the Thai fan refers to many of the most intractable issues in contemporary China:

“China: We have 5,000 years of history!
Thailand: Your team was abused 5:1.
China: We have an area of 9.6 million square kilometers.
Thailand: Your team was abused 5:1.
China: One in every five people in the world is Chinese!
Thailand: Your team was abused 5:1.
China: Can’t we talk of something other than men’s soccer?
Thailand: You’re beaten down by local government officials every day.
China: ……
Thailand: You eat toxic food every day.
China: ……
Thailand: You suck in toxic air.
China: ……
Thailand: Even if you struggle for a lifetime you can’t afford a house.
China: Let’s continue talking about the soccer team, OK?
Thailand: Your team was abused 5:1.”
The reporter refers to Chinese anger as a bomb exploding. It will get worse.

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