#时事热点头条说#
Taiwanese table tennis player Zheng Yijing is an athlete with a good record, she once won the mixed doubles bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and also won the mixed doubles silver medal at the WTT Xinjiang Grand Slam Championship. However, her political stance has caused a lot of controversy, because she once went to the mainland for training and enjoyed special policies, but she canvassed votes for Chen Shizhong, a DPP "Taiwan independence" activist, in the Taipei mayoral election, exposing her duplicitous face and political leanings. This article will analyze the reasons and effects behind Zheng Yijing's behavior from the following aspects.
Zheng Yijing's table tennis career
Zheng Yijing was born into a sports family and has had a strong interest in table tennis since she was a child. She joined Chinese Taipei at the age of 14, becoming the youngest player. She is a rare "attacking player" among female players, and her mentor Lin Qicai considers her "aggressive" and has a wonderful feel. She has also achieved many achievements in the international arena, such as the World Junior Tour Women's Singles Champion, the ITTF Professional Tour Women's Doubles Championship, and the U21 Women's Singles Champion. In 2018, she won her highest personal world ranking - the seventh place in the world, thus becoming the "first sister" of Taiwan's table tennis industry, and she was also awarded the "Ten Outstanding Youth Award" in Taiwan.
However, when Zheng Yijing faced the mainland players, it was not so easy to win. The level of table tennis in the mainland is among the top in the world, and even if Taiwanese athletes meet mainland athletes, it is difficult to win. In 2016, Zheng Yijing participated in the Olympic Games for the first time, but she met Li Xiaoxia and unfortunately failed miserably and missed the final four. Although she has not even touched the edge of the Olympic medal, Zheng Yijing has created the best result of Taiwanese local players in the Olympic women's table tennis field.
Zheng Yijing went to the mainland for training and enjoyed special policies
In order to improve her table tennis level, Zheng Yijing chose a "fast" road - to go to the mainland to participate in systematic training on the mainland. From January to February 2021, Taipei Table Tennis Association members Zheng Jiaqi, Lin Yunru, Zheng Yijing and others went to the table tennis training base in Lingshui County, Hainan Province together and conducted closed training with the members of the national table tennis team and the Hainan table tennis team for one and a half months. There, Zheng Yijing and the national table tennis team received systematic and world-class training, and her table tennis skills and psychological quality have been greatly improved.
Not only that, Zheng Yijing also enjoyed a "special policy" in Hainan. Because it coincided with the new crown epidemic, in order to go abroad for competition, vaccination became the "top priority" for athletes. However, according to the policy at that time, it was difficult for Taiwanese to enjoy the mainland's vaccine policy, and the situation of epidemic prevention on the island was "a mess", and it was also difficult for the Taiwanese people to vaccinate. In order to allow athletes and coaches participating in training in the mainland to be vaccinated smoothly, the Taiwan Affairs Office of Hainan Province arranged a special person to be responsible for docking according to the notice of the superior, and arranged for them to be vaccinated with the new crown vaccine before Zheng Yijing and others left for international competitions, so that they received a certain degree of protection and were able to participate in the competition smoothly. Such treatment is already a great "preferential treatment".
Before leaving, they also expressed their gratitude to the provincial Taiwan Affairs Office and hoped that they would have more opportunities to go to Hainan for training in the future to enhance cross-strait exchanges. But who would have thought that when Zheng Yijing left the mainland, she would change her face?
Zheng Yijing canvassed votes for Chen Shizhong, a "Taiwan independence" element of the Democratic Progressive Party
In 2021, at the Tokyo Olympics, Zheng Yijing competed again, this time, her combination with Lin Yunru won the mixed doubles bronze medal, and she also won her first Olympic medal. In 2022, in the WTT Xinjiang Grand Slam Tournament, the combination of Lin Yunru and Zheng Yijing won another silver medal in mixed doubles. It can be seen that after the intensive training in Hainan, whether it is Lin Yunru or Zheng Yijing's table tennis skills have been greatly improved. Such achievements also made the audience on the island very excited, and the Taiwanese media even trumpeted the "pure local group".
Just when the island was excited about this, the DPP authorities did not forget to come out to "rub the heat." After the Tokyo Olympics, Tsai Ing-wen specially posted a congratulatory message to Lin Yunru and Zheng Yijing, seemingly wanting to take the credit for herself. I don't know if it's because of this, or because the DPP authorities really gave Lin Yijing more support, and in the 2002 Taipei mayoral election, Lin Yijing actually "stood up" for Chen Shizhong, which caused great controversy.
Chen Shizhong, a former head of Taiwan's health department, has been unable to respond to the new crown epidemic, resulting in a lack of epidemic protection supplies and vaccines on the island, and has also caused large-scale infections on the island, which can be said to have caused complaints in Taiwan. After Chen Shizhong ran for the election, his poll support rate fell all the way. Some analysts pointed out that at that time, except for the die-hard green camp elements, almost no one supported Chen Shizhong.
At this time, Zheng Yijing actually released a photo of playing with Chen Shizhong on social media, accompanied by a text praising Chen Shizhong. She claimed on social media that Chen Shizhong's voice was very reassuring, and also said that Chen Shizhong himself was very amiable, in short, he did not hesitate to praise Chen Shizhong. Obviously, this is Zheng Yijing's propaganda and vote solicitation for Chen Shizhong, combined with the previous analysts' claim that no one supports Chen Shizhong's remarks except for the die-hard green camp elements, we can make reasonable guesses about Zheng Yijing's political leanings.
Zheng Yijing's duplicitous face and political leaning
While enjoying the special policies given to her by the mainland, Zheng Yijing wants to support the "Taiwan independence" forces of the Democratic Progressive Party, which is really very shameful. She not only betrayed the mainland's friendship and help to her, but also betrayed the exchanges and cooperation between the table tennis circles across the strait. She used her status as an athlete to serve the DPP authorities and stand for the "Taiwan independence" elements, completely forgetting that she was a Chinese. Her actions not only damaged cross-strait relations, but also damaged the image and reputation of Taiwan's table tennis industry.
Zheng Yijing's political leanings may have been influenced and lured by the DPP authorities. After all, the DPP authorities have been using the cultural and sports fields to promote the idea of "Taiwan independence" and give more resources and rewards to athletes and artists who support "Taiwan independence." The DPP authorities have also been spreading fear and hostility towards the mainland and smearing the mainland's preferential policies and assistance to Taiwan. Zheng Yijing may have been deluded by these lies and temptations, ignoring the mainland's sincerity and kindness towards her.
Zheng Yijing's duplicitous face and political inclination not only made the mainland table tennis community feel disappointed and indignant, but also made many Taiwanese table tennis fans feel disappointed and indignant. They believe that Zheng Yijing is an athlete who does not know gratitude, shame, respect, and patriotism, and they are no longer proud and appreciate her achievements. They hope that Zheng Yijing can clearly recognize her identity and position, return to the right path, and regain the respect and trust of the cross-strait table tennis community and the general audience.