14-Year-Old Chinese Gold Medalist Who Couldn't Understand Native Language... Controversy Over Being Raised Like a Diving Machine

On August 5th, Quan Hongchan of China won the gold medal in the women's 10m diving at the Tokyo Olympics.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] Controversy has arisen over a post-match interview video of China's Quan Hongchan (全紅嬋, 14), the gold medalist in women's diving at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with questions raised about whether she was trained like a machine without basic education for athletes.

On the 8th, Fang Zhouzi (方舟子), a famous Chinese science writer and influencer, posted part of Quan Hongchan's interview video on his social networking service (SNS) Twitter account.

Video posted on Twitter by Pangzhouzi on the 8th. It shows a situation where Quan Hongchan does not fully understand the interview. / Photo by Pangzhouzi on Twitter capture

In the video posted by Fang Zhouzi, a Chinese reporter asked Quan Hongchan, "What do you think your personality (性格, Xingge) is like?" Quan, looking puzzled, replied, "Who is Xing oppa (杏哥, Xingge)?"

The reporter repeatedly clarified, "Not Xing oppa, but your personality," but she did not understand, and eventually an official stepped in to explain it as "your usual attitude," allowing her to continue answering.

Fang Zhouzi commented on the video, saying, "A 14-year-old girl cannot even understand everyday questions, which is not cute but pitiful," and criticized, "It seems she was trained like a diving machine without having a childhood or receiving basic education."

He continued, "What difference is there between this child, who earned money to treat her mother without proper basic education, and ordinary laborers?" and appealed, "Quan Hongchan gained attention because she won a gold medal, but how many other child laborers who did not become champions remain unknown?"

Previously, after winning the medal, Quan Hongchan expressed, "I want to earn a lot of money to treat my mother's illness."

Reactions from local netizens to these remarks were mixed. One netizen criticized, "A country that treats people like animals, with no human rights," while another countered, "Quan Hongchan uses Cantonese, so she just didn't understand the standard language well."

In response, Fang Zhouzi pointed out again, "Such claims only prove the reality where basic education is not properly provided."

Quan Hongchan won the gold medal in the women's 10m platform diving final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held on the 5th at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in Japan. She is the second youngest Chinese athlete ever to win an Olympic diving gold medal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.