Chinese basketball star Yao Ming, who plays for Houston Rockets
in the US, was officially nominated on April 14 as a contender for
the title of National Model Worker. He will compete for the final
selection with 2,976 other candidates.
Despite the fact that Yao has twice been named a model worker in
his native city of Shanghai, the nomination of a millionaire living
in the celebrity world of the United States for the national-level
title is a controversial one.
The State Council, China's cabinet, has been selecting national
model workers since 1950, and only once every five years since
1989. Candidates are traditionally chosen from exemplary figures
among the country's huge working population of about 750 million to
inspire public enthusiasm for socialist construction.
Celebrated model workers typically include toilet cleaners, bus
conductors, plumbers and scientists with outstanding
accomplishments.
Yao's four-year contract with the Rockets, signed in October
2002, is worth US$18 million. He also enjoys income from various
product endorsements, notably a seven-year deal with Reebok signed
in October 2003 that is potentially one of the most lucrative shoe
contracts in history.
"According to past criteria, the title of model worker should
only be given to ordinary laborers," said Zhou Xiaozheng, a
sociology professor at Beijing's Renmin University of China.
"Sports stars, who owe their outstanding achievements not only to
their own hard work, but also to their innate sports talent, are
not the perfect models for the public."
However, sociology professor Yu Hai of Fudan University in
Shanghai argued, "Yao answers the call of his motherland whenever
he is needed, for example, at the Athens Olympic Games. He has
inspired China's national basketball team with his exclusive skills
and experience acquired in the NBA matches to achieve a historic
breakthrough."
The Shanghai Municipal Judging Panel for Model Workers said that
the primary reason for Yao's selection was that as the most
prestigious Chinese basketball player in the world today, Yao is a
perfect image ambassador for China.
The panel also said that Yao had repeatedly showed his
patriotism by always putting his country's interests above his
own.
Zhang Mingji, Yao Ming's agent, said that Yao himself took the
honor very seriously his homeland's recognition of his hard
work.
This is the first time that the list of candidates for the model
worker award has been released for public comments. In the last
selection, the unprecedented inclusion of more than 30
entrepreneurs on the list also triggered intense debate.
The winners of this year's award will be announced on April 30
in Beijing.
Model worker pundits say Yao doesn't stand a chance of winning
the title.
(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn April 20, 2005)