Police in Beijing have arrested a 29-year-old woman for posting defamatory comments about athletes and coaches following the women’s singles table tennis final at the Paris Olympics. The woman, surnamed He, was accused of “maliciously fabricating information and openly slandering others,” according to a statement by the Public Security Bureau of Beijing’s Daxing district on the Weibo platform on Tuesday.
The statement did not specify which athletes and coaches were targeted, and the case is still under investigation, the police said. The arrest came after the women’s singles table tennis finals in Paris on Sunday, where Chen Meng secured the gold in an all-China match against Sun Yingsha.
During the match, Sun received enthusiastic cheers from spectators, while Chen faced boos and online abuse. China’s Ministry of Public Security referenced the match in its vow on Wednesday to “severely crack down on chaotic sport-related ‘fan circles’.” The ministry’s statement, reported by state media, urged fans to “watch the game in a civilized manner, discuss objectively, and respect coaches, athletes, and judges.”
Weibo, the Chinese social media platform, announced on Sunday that it had deleted more than 12,000 posts and banned over 300 accounts following the incident. The platform encouraged users to “keep their focus on the court and comment rationally.”
According to Freeweibo, a website monitoring comments removed by Weibo, among the deleted posts were those attacking Chen Meng. One such post read, “The whole country was hoping for Sun Yingsha to win the women’s singles gold, where’s your sense of justice?” Additionally, posts showing a Sun fan in Paris seemingly raising their middle finger towards Chen were also removed.
The hashtag “Don’t let fan culture erode Chinese table tennis” had garnered more than 200 million views on Weibo by Sunday, with many users criticizing the behavior of fans in the stadium and expressing support for Chen Meng. One user commented, “Anyone uninformed would have thought Yingsha was playing against a foreign opponent.”
Before the Games, Weibo had already deleted 8,200 comments and blocked over 500 accounts for “abusive and slanderous” remarks about athletes. The platform urged users to cheer for all Chinese competitors in Paris.
China remains the dominant force in table tennis, having continued its strong performance at the Paris Olympics.
08th Aug 2024
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