Just saw the new on NBC
Kinda heartbreaking given Liu’s status as a Olympic icon
Huge letdown, but he’s human as well, I hope the Chinese will be understanding

August 18, 2008 @ 12:13 pm | Comment

I hope the mounting pressure and the burdening expectations did not play a part in this. Yes a huge letdown, but his health supercedes everything else. With or without a medal, Liu Xiang has inspired so many.

August 18, 2008 @ 12:27 pm | Comment

You could see he was not comfortable when he went down in the blocks. Great shame for both him and the US athlete whose hamstring gave out a couple of heats before.

Only an insensitive fool would criticise Liu or consider this a failure in any way. He’s still a young man; he’ll be back.

August 18, 2008 @ 12:37 pm | Comment

Huge pressure becomes huge disappointment. It’s going to be tough. There is going to be criticism for sure.

I hope he can recover from his injury, both physically and mentally. He is still great. I support him whatsoever.

August 18, 2008 @ 1:20 pm | Comment

More than a few commenters at Titan are attacking Liu Xiang. Quite disappointing. Anyone else here the dirge-version of “You and Me” CCTV-5 played while showing video of Liu Xiang? Kind of eerie.

It’s a shame that two of the top runners went out like that (don’t forget Trammell, he wasn’t exactly weak in this event). I was actively anticipating this final… well, Robles … good luck. I hope you can still make a run at your own world record.

August 18, 2008 @ 1:28 pm | Comment

I was very disappointed to hear that he pull out of the race. But his health is more important. Hope he recovers well.

August 18, 2008 @ 1:49 pm | Comment

Here i have to add, being an eyewitness to the entire event and also in the process of being a fan of Chinese athletics spoils in the recent years, Liu was definitely in the public eye, whether in or out of the bird’s nest. He rose to fame almost at the same pace he took to win the gold, shinning medal at the Athens, and was fuelled more with lucrative sponsorships and endorsement deals.
Chinese never really performed anywhere near the word Atheletics, so undoubtedly, Liu’s gold, sparkled the Chinese atheletes considering they added 6 new contestants in track and field to the existing team. Anyways, Liu definitely cashed on his new founded fame with his face splashed all over. I mean literally all over. Of course there was Yao Ming in there somewhere too.
The craze and the tide of expectation he created this Olympics can be judged by the fact, that Chinese tele hired a special chopper with a repoter to hover over the bird’s nest to catch a glimpse of Liu before anybody. Now that was a first!
Anyways, pressure was mounting and there was a point, when a stadium containing almost 0.001% of the Chinese population + foreign delegation and atheletes, reporters, your’s truely et al, batted their respective breaths together, same time, for Liu.
Cumulative injury or cumulative pressure, something cumulative was definitely in play there somewhere, but the cumulative silence that i heard at the nest, will reverberate long, that i can tell.

August 18, 2008 @ 2:02 pm | Comment

But just have a look at the Chinese BBS, many Chinese are criticizing Liu Xiang. Crazy Citizens!

August 18, 2008 @ 2:34 pm | Comment

Moon, I wouldn’t point to those BBSs as representative of the Chinese people. Those faulting Liu Xiang and attacking him are freaks. See Kaiser Kuo’s post on this topic.

August 18, 2008 @ 3:03 pm | Comment

What a terrible disappointment for Liu Xiang. The pressure he was under must have been unimagineable.

I wonder if this will affect Liu’s status as Chinese advertising celebrity du jour? Will he now go the way of F-4, Jay Zhou and Yao Ming? If so … who will be next?

Best wishes to Liu Xiang!

August 18, 2008 @ 3:44 pm | Comment

It’s incredibly sad. I read some interviews with him a couple weeks ago and it was clear he’s not very happy being a celebrity. Imagine how he must be feeling now…. I hope he bounces back soon.

August 18, 2008 @ 4:05 pm | Comment

I wonder when the conspiracy theorists are going to come out and suggest that he threw it intentionally. It was just an act because so much pressure was put on him he was afraid of coming in second or third and thus losing face for himself and for all of China… his only safe out was to feign an injury.

I’m almost certain the blogs and bbs’s are already starting those rumors/conspiracy theories. Just surprised no one has brought them up here.

August 18, 2008 @ 5:08 pm | Comment

Best wishes for Liu

and I am more worried about the psychological injury rather than the physic one

This is not the fall of a hero

August 18, 2008 @ 5:29 pm | Comment

There is something morbidly sick in Chinese society that requires a constant feeding of sacrifice after sacrifice on the altar of “Chinese face.”

Liu Xiang was just the latest. He is a likable chap with a lot of talent who, unfortunately, was selected to gain national “face” for the so-called motherland. He failed and now the anguish, hopelessness, and disappointment will set in. Chinese men, women, and children will cry and despair.

The world better hope that China’s pathological need for “face” will be satisfied in winning the most gold medals. If it does not, and the Americans win, we will possibly see a psychologically volatile, fragile, unstable society experience a “nervous breakdown” a-la-cultural revolution. It will look for scapegoats and someone to blame. It will resort to extreme xenophobia, racism, and ultra-nationalism.

Please God, let China win all the gold medals. Maybe this will help them calm down.

@Liu Xiang. You are one in a billion. No, you’re one of two in seven billion. You have nothing to regret.

August 18, 2008 @ 6:28 pm | Comment

Breaks my heart too. I just hope Liu Xiang is ok. 🙁

August 18, 2008 @ 7:58 pm | Comment

I’m not Chinese but I was one of the billions who had been waiting for his 110 meter hurdle in this years Olympics. Seeing him not even able to start the race is too heart breaking.

I do believe he would not back out in front of billions of fans watching if the pain is not that excruciating.

I just hope he’s okay and will still have his chance for a glorious run once more in the future. I just hope that in that future, he won’t bee too harassed by the crowds’ too high expectations. Cheers to Liu Xiang!

August 18, 2008 @ 9:08 pm | Comment

Fred,

“The world better hope that China’s pathological need for “face” will be satisfied in winning the most gold medals. If it does not, and the Americans win, we will possibly see a psychologically volatile, fragile, unstable society experience a “nervous breakdown” a-la-cultural revolution. It will look for scapegoats and someone to blame. It will resort to extreme xenophobia, racism, and ultra-nationalism. ”

What are you going to say next? Two days before the Beijing Games are over the US embassy in Beijing issues warnings to Americans in China, asking them to leave China because their safety can not be guaranteed?

Just in case anyone wonders what “cynicism” means, here it is.

August 19, 2008 @ 1:13 am | Comment

The Beijing olympic games without LiuXiang like America without obama,but it only a game you know?there are huge numbers of message or reports revealed this event this noon,i can understand.Liu in hurdle like cobe in basketball!depite he won or not,indeed,he is a hero in chinese people,this is no doubt.Liu,you have gone,but my family and i will waitting for you to come back,this is your game.God bless you!young man~

August 19, 2008 @ 3:23 am | Comment

I’m sorry for him, but I’ve been sorry for a lot of other athletes too – including our own. I can think of people who were shooting for a gold medal who missed this AND the last olympics.

The Chinese could do with a little perspective, I think. They seemed to have invested far too much emotional capital in him.

August 19, 2008 @ 5:59 am | Comment

@Pfferer

Duh! You missed the point.

When a nation foolishly invest so much emotional energy in the hopes that their lone champion will gain them national “face,” that reflects a fragile society. A volatile, fragile society looks for excuses and scapegoats to blame when disappointed, humiliated, or attacked.

The Olympics, starting with the international relay, has not gained China the international respect or praised it expected.

China’s reaction to the anti-torch demonstrations is a case in point. The Dalai Lama was blamed. CNN was blamed. The BBC was blamed. China has a history of looking for scapegoats during times of crisis or stress.

With the loss of Liu Xiang, after years of hype, the society will look for someone to blame and it certainly will not be the national leaders who put all this pressure on the coaches and athletes.

Liu Xiang was an unfortunate victim of a society that places unrealistic importance on the cultural value called national “face.”

China needs to look at itself and analyze what is wrong in its society and culture. The last time (Berlin Games, 1936) a country invested so much emotional energy in one individual, well, the world paid a big price.

August 19, 2008 @ 7:49 am | Comment

Fred,

Boy, can you babble!

You greatly exaggerated the importance of Liu Xiang and what he means to China. It is certainly great if he could win another gold medal, but the notion that the Chinese are counting on him to bring “face” is farce. It is certainly disappointing to see him out of the competition, but to say that the Chinese are so fragile that they are going to blow up and blame others for (what?), you are nuts, Fred.

Just who did the Chinese blame this time? Talk about looking for scapegoats, the US actually is the master of this domain. Japan-bashing, China-bashing, XXX-bashing, whoever it is, it is not our (America’s) fault. China has a long way to go to get to the level where the US is in this regard.

I agree though “face” is useless and garbage. But who are you to tell the Chinese that this indicates that there is something wrong with their society and culture? East, west, oriental, occidental and everything in between. Why should you, a westerner, be imposing your values and beliefs upon other people? If you don’t like how things work in China, simply ignore them. There are plenty of jobs available in wherever you come from, I am sure.

China is certainly no Nazi Germany. The so-called “land of the free and the home of the brave” is actually fighting two wars in two sovereign nations that it recently invaded, not China. Talk about self-reflection, the Americans need it more than anyone else does.

August 19, 2008 @ 9:31 am | Comment

@Pffefer

My, my – must have struck a pseudo Sinophile nerve.

You obviously were not at the stadium yesterday when Liu Xiang quit. (I was) I assume you do not read (I do) the various Chinese blogs or else you would know by now there is a significant amount of criticism (unfairly) directed towards Liu Xiang and his coach.

Other Western observers have also noted this.

This type of behavior on part of Chinese society is a reflection of an unhealthy obsession for scapegoats. I just comment on what I observe.

You, dear Pffefer, obviously choose not to notice the recent history of Chinese responses to apparent slights, insults, or defeats.

When a Japanese football team defeated a Chinese team, the Japanese fans and football players were attacked.

When Chinese shoppers were erroneously told that the French supermarket Carrefours supported the Dalai Lama, crowds of thousands picketed the store and even attacked a foreigner by mistake thinking he was French.

The Chinese volleyball coach, who coached the US team, was singled out for attacks and insults.

Any criticism of China’s policies or behavior by Western media is considered to “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.”

What kind of country goes around getting its “feeling hurt”? This is an infantile response of a silly child – not a mature society or government.

Dear, dear, Pfferfer, you do not help the Chinese people by defending their backward, irrational behavior. This does not help the country or the people.

I limit my comments to behavior or actions I observed in China. Your introducing US policy into the argument is a red herring.

As a person who has great respect for the Chinese people, I still stand by my view. In light of the Chinese reaction to Liu Xiang’s quitting and the Olympics as a whole, I believe the society needs to do some serious soul-searching on just what this US$40 billion Olympics accomplished or signifies.

August 19, 2008 @ 11:14 am | Comment

Sorry Fred, but I dont think you are being fair with this remark:

This type of behavior on part of Chinese society is a reflection of an unhealthy obsession for scapegoats. I just comment on what I observe.

A few losers on a few blogs and BBSs are not a fair sampling of “Chinese society.” They are a distinct and pathetic minority. If you observe commenters on Front Page or Storm Front or LGF you can come up with lots of rabid and ignorant comments as well. Those commenters, however, do not speak for “the American people.”

August 19, 2008 @ 11:22 am | Comment

Fred,

I do read many Chinese blogs and online forums, where there were a lot of people showing their support for Liu Xiang and a clearly small minority criticizing him for dropping out. So what there are people who think different from you (and I happen to agree with you here)? Didn’t “Not-a-Sinophile” claim the Chinese can’t think? Don’t you value diversity and freedom of thought? Can you really argue that they represent the Chinese?

I really don’t get it, how does Liu Xiang dropping out and some Chinese netizens criticizing him for it have anything to do with your allegation that Chinese love finding scapegoats to blame? Once again, who did the Chinese blame this time? The US? Cuba?

(By the way, it is not something exclusively Chinese to question somebody for coaching a foreign national team, something very stupid in my opinion. Michael Bastian, an American who coaches the Chinese women’s softball team have the same problem. http://features.csmonitor.com/backstory/2008/08/01/qbastian/)

Me “introducing US policy into the argument is a red herring”? You bringing up the alleged Chinese national psyche of scapegoating, which is completely irrelevant to Liu Xiang and this discussion is not?

I do agree that it is pathetic to always feel hurt, i.e. the victim mentality. It has to stop. The Chinese need to grow up, nobody owes you anything and you don’t owe anybody anything. Don’t give a damn about what the rest of the world says about you and don’t expect the rest of the world to give a damn about what you think.

August 19, 2008 @ 12:35 pm | Comment

“Didn’t “Not-a-Sinophile” claim the Chinese can’t think?”

Actually, no, I didn’t say that. What I was commenting on was the lack of freedom to express ones thoughts as a comment on the medal count “controversy.” I appreciate being quoted, but accurately please…..

August 19, 2008 @ 12:59 pm | Comment

@Pfferfer @Richard

I do not want to belabor a point so I will end with this quote I just found in today’s Guardian (UK).

“It was the end of a dream for China and the start of a furious bout of soul-searching as many turned against their former hero or blamed his failure on media hype, commercial pressure and state propaganda.

“Online comment – the freest and wildest guide to public opinion – was unforgiving.

“Tens of thousands logged on to express their views and, according to the two main portals, Sohu and Sina, the overwhelming majority were critical.

“‘We have been expecting you to perform in 2008, but now we just watch you quit. If you really want to dedicate yourself to the country, you would crawl to the finish line. But you always meant to lose,’ said a commentator in the Baidu chatroom. Another accused Liu of playing with the country’s emotions.

“Many were furious at the secrecy surrounding the injury, which only came to light over the weekend, although his coach said the runner has been suffering from the problem for many years.

“Liu was lambasted as ‘fake’, ’embarrassing’, ‘deceiving people by telling everyone he was in good shape” and spending so much time doing commercials that he had become a better actor than a runner.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/aug/19/olympicsathletics.olympics2008

August 19, 2008 @ 3:05 pm | Comment

hi fred,

whilst i am sure that people wil be really pissed off, and i do not doubt the atmosphere in the bird’s nest was pretty ugly, liu xiang was clearly in a great deal of pain. i am not sure the internet is a fantastic barometer of public opinion. take the bbc’s have your say for example – from reading that you would believe that most people in Britain are rabidly right wing and support the BNP (British National Party – racist fascists) when in fact they struggle to get council seats, let alone elected to the House of Commons.

August 19, 2008 @ 3:30 pm | Comment

I know many Chinese people and they all felt a great deal of sadness and empathy. Not a single one blamed Liu Xiang for not running.

If some people criticized him for his hiding his injury or for caring about sponsorship dollars above at all else, that is another topic. They may (or may not) have a point. However, such comments don’t support Fred’s allegation that This type of behavior on part of Chinese society is a reflection of an unhealthy obsession for scapegoats. I don’t see how the Guardian article in any way validates that allegation. And if the reporter sees them as a barometer of China’s attitude toward Liu Xiang, I think Watt is simply wrong. The last paragraph of the story seems more in tune with what I am seeing:

Outside a sports shop, where the main display featured a gold figurine of Liu, customers were more forgiving.

“I had an image of him as a powerful, handsome man. That hasn’t changed,” said Wang Yinan, a student. “I can understand why some people are angry but I don’t agree with them. I think Chinese people put too much pressure on Liu. This has changed the way I think about athletes and the Olympics.”

August 19, 2008 @ 6:06 pm | Comment

Fred,

Not that I think Guardian is a shitty newspaper, but if your evidence is this one piece from Guardian, you are not going to convince anybody.

I went to Sohu and Sina to check the comments again, I am not calling Jonathan Watts a liar, but I just don’t see “overwhelming majority were critical”, I just don’t see it.

August 20, 2008 @ 12:53 am | Comment

@Fred

I do not want to belabor a point so I will end with this quote I just found in today’s Guardian (UK).

Of cause you will quote. Of cause Guardian is always right. It’s your bible and you will believe every piece of crap out of it.

August 20, 2008 @ 6:46 am | Comment

Is Liu’s painful expression somewhat “exaggerated” for the camera?

This is a full grown “Hao Han” used to tough training and bitterness.

Even earthquake victims trapped in the rubble don’t show as much pain.

August 20, 2008 @ 11:34 am | Comment

Chinese people are upset with Liu Xiang because he and his sponsors knew he could not win so they faked this injury.

Chinese have been made into suckers, again.

August 20, 2008 @ 12:11 pm | Comment

MX, that’s about as idiotic an explanation I could imagine

August 20, 2008 @ 12:43 pm | Comment

well, look at those chinese bbs, i think there is one thing need to be cleared, you may see lots of chiense blaming liu xiang for what he did, and many of them used bad words, but let us look at this in this way, forst i don;t think people really mean they now hate this athlete and treat him as some kind of loser because of the national “face” thing, if you think in that way, i have to say you get this idea from chinese media, maybe not real chinese people, it is no doubt that chinese media and chinese people have different ideas in so many ways, and media never admit this, see they only support and only publish the comfort to liu, then you will know, what chinese people really want to doubt is the hidden power and system behind this accident.

we all see liu’s posters and ads all the times every time we go out, so it is simple logic that he has no time to train, even his parents are on posters all around our house too, (that poster is so bad taste and design, bad for me mental health). nike, amway,visa blah blah blah. liu is the money maker for those huge companies,government,and himself. and look at the newspaper, he is always on the headlines, even something trival, and media always claims he is the hero, No.1,achieve chinese people’s dream, bullshit like those. so the whole thing is a bit joke. what happened 2 days ago is a BIG JOKE for government, media, and those ad agency who push all of those events. they slap their own faces now. and sadly, liu has to be the only one to afford those,because he is the product of those. well, what about media didn;t dl all those stupid thing, and guide people treat this in a healthy motion, will people do those and blame him? i don; think so. he is good, but it doesn;t mean all chinese can run faster then africans. the show lasts for 4 years, 2 days ago is the funny point of whole story, i am curies to see what will happen next, and i hope by people’s react, the money(benifit)chain will be sober and careful, there are so many things are far more important then the 12’88. miner, poor areas, pollutions, big media liers,and so on.

August 20, 2008 @ 1:56 pm | Comment

we all see liu’s posters and ads all the times every time we go out, so it is simple logic that he has no time to train

Simply false. For the past few months Liu Xiang has been training, and has not been permitted to do any media interviews or new ads. The posters you see were created a long time ago. This applies to all of the Chinese Olympic athletes but especially to Liu. This was not about lack of training, but an excruciating physical injury. I watched Liu run just a couple of months ago and he was spectacular, easily defeating his competitors. Something happened between then and now to exacerbate an ongoing problem with his foot. It’s definitely interesting to see everyone creating their own scenarios, often based on total ignorance, to explain something that’s pretty simple.

August 20, 2008 @ 3:14 pm | Comment

“but it doesn’t mean all chinese can run faster then africans.”

why on earth would that matter?

“i am curies to see what will happen next, and i hope by people’s react, the money(benifit)chain will be sober and careful, there are so many things are far more important then the 12′88. miner, poor areas, pollutions, big media liers,and so on.”

i agree with you there

August 20, 2008 @ 3:36 pm | Comment

“I watched Liu run just a couple of months ago and he was spectacular, easily defeating his competitors. Something happened between then and now to exacerbate an ongoing problem with his foot.”

During the Haoyun Beijing tournament? I was there for the semis and finals, too. That was against complete nobodies. He initially planned to run only the quarterfinals just to make an appearance – but eventually “decided” to run all 3 rounds. No internationally elite athlete would want to do that in such a weak event. After that he only had two major meets scheduled: New York he pulled out because of the hammy and he false started out of Oregon. He hasn’t run a real race since the indoor season.

With that being said, if someone wants to believe in “there’s more to this story,” the most likely thing seems to be “they” over-trained him after seeing Robles run crazy this summer while Liu Xiang was at home. The extra pressure eventually caused an apparent chronic injury to flare up. I think this whole thing would have had a smoother ending if there was just more information on him leading up to the Olympics. He was completely isolated for months with the last news I read this weekend saying his hamstring was a consideration, but nothing to worry about for the preliminaries. And then suddenly he’s out with a completely different injury. It’s ripe for speculation for any so inclined.

August 20, 2008 @ 4:28 pm | Comment

I completely agree that they over-trained him.

Whether he was running against nobodies in that race or not, he ran fast and well. About his being isolated for months before the event – totally true. Every Chinese Olympic athlete was. Maybe the Chinese athletic training system deserves some blame for this calamity – in fact, I’m pretty sure they do. The way these athletes are treated and kept out of sight, unable even to speak with their own parents for extended periods of time – well, it does foment speculation, as you say.

August 20, 2008 @ 5:00 pm | Comment

Not all the Chinese athletes were as we got to see the Chinese football/soccer team in action leading up to the games. So no objective viewer was surprised by those results, despite the official expectations/hopes of final four. Well, except maybe that they managed to score, but they countered that with more red cards than goals.

Sorry, couldn’t resist the easy shot at 国奥/功夫队.

August 20, 2008 @ 5:33 pm | Comment

Terrence Trammell also hurt himself in the previous heat, so there is some credibility to Liu’s injury. Some of his fans have resigned themselves to the fact that he may never break the world record again.

August 20, 2008 @ 6:32 pm | Comment

[041] ” Publicity Department Moves In To Stop Criticisms Of Liu Xiang” (08/20/2008)

(New York Times) Star Hurdler Apologizes to China for Withdrawal.
Jim Yardley. August 19, 2008.

“After Liu hobbled off the track, China’s Internet was filled with comments that ranged from sympathetic to deeply suspicious, with some people blaming officials or even his corporate sponsors for staging his exit.

“By Monday afternoon, China’s propaganda authorities had issued an order forbidding the country’s news media from criticizing Liu or probing into the details of his withdrawal, according to one Chinese journalist. Coverage of Liu’s situation in the state news media was almost uniformly sympathetic.

‘Here is an example of a popular Internet forum that was ‘harmonized’ inside China but continues to be available on Chinese-language Internet forums outside mainland China.”

http://www.zonaeuropa.com/200808b.brief.htm#041

Why would the government stop the “criticizing” ? Maybe there is something wrong in Chinese society.

August 20, 2008 @ 8:43 pm | Comment

I don’t know who the hell #32 was. Richard, can you check the email address of #32? It was not me.

August 21, 2008 @ 4:19 am | Comment

marcus, the government here always tells the press to march in lockstep. It’s called harmony.

August 21, 2008 @ 10:14 am | Comment

“we all see liu’s posters and ads all the times every time we go out, so it is simple logic that he has no time to train
Simply false. For the past few months Liu Xiang has been training, and has not been permitted to do any media interviews or new ads. The posters you see were created a long time ago.”

well, maybe i should agree part of it, but look at how man he has this year, obviously not all of them were dine in last year or early this year. well you can count, for a poster, maybe just one day shoot can finsh, but it has to be locate in beijing, in other city, includes all the travel, and other things, it will at least take longer, and that isjust the graphic poster, ads on tv will take much more work. on the other hand, i don;t think all those huge company finish their creatie ideas long time ago, they always change it, until the last minutes, otherwise they don;t think it is perfect enough, unless there is no time left. simply a poster idea will take at elast 2 weeks to finish the layout, (maybe other 20 different layout) and for tv ads, maybe several months, lots and lots of stories are killed during the meetings. base on that, i don;t think all liu xiang’s clients finished their plan in last year or early this year,oh, i forget the studio work also takes a long time too, prepaer the ads for 30′, 15′,5′, maybe 1 min, and for differnet chanels, different cities. then design the relate graphic together with the tv ads. like sperical poster, package, card,pop, leaflet, shelf talker, icon, so if visa’s new poster just comes out one week ago, and its tv ads too, i find it is hard to believe it is done quite long time ago.

again one thing i have to claim, i don;t doubt his injury and i think he is not on his best moment. what i think really has problems is the media, and those people push him there.

August 21, 2008 @ 11:57 am | Comment

Man, you don’t give up, do you? Okay, I defer to you – you seem to know all about how athletes partition their time for photo shoots and all the intricacies of the advertising business. You’ve clearly had lots of first-hand experience both in working with the Games, with athletes and with the marketing industry. Thanks for the insights. And for taking the thread incredibly off-topic. Well done.

August 21, 2008 @ 4:49 pm | Comment

Liu Xiang is a deserter. In today’s 21st century world, the Olympics is simply a reflection of the strength of a nation, the competition in the Olympics is simply another way to make war. If you look at the top 6 medal rankings, you’ll notice that except for Australia, the other 5 are USA, China, Russia, Britain, France. All of them are permanent members of the UN. The medals ranking is highly correlated with national strength/wealth/power, etc. Every athlete is a soldier in this smokeless war, every event is a battle, every medal is a victory.

During World War 2, when a Soviet Red Arm soldier runs away from a charge, he’ll be shot to death by his own commanders. It is the most despicable and shameful thing to run away from the enemy, to abandon the defense of Leningrad.

Today, Liu Xiang ran away from his enemy during a charge. Of course today’s world is much more civilized, he will not be shot to death. But definintely he is a deserter, a shame of the country, a blot.

August 22, 2008 @ 5:35 am | Comment

Hongxing,

Give me a break!!

August 22, 2008 @ 7:25 am | Comment

Don’t argue with Hong Xing. He lives in his own deranged world.

August 22, 2008 @ 8:29 am | Comment

“Liu Xiang is a deserter.”

Says the same Red Star who lives snug and safe in the USA enjoying all the freedoms and privileges the people in his motherland (at least he claims China is his motherland) are deprived of. Shame on you, Hongxing! And now go into your corner and think well and hard about your next comment before you post it!

August 22, 2008 @ 7:04 pm | Comment

Having Liu Xiang drop out was sad, but most Chinese I saw were sympathetic to the athlete, and encouraged him to compete in the next Olympics. So what’s the problem here?

August 25, 2008 @ 6:38 am | Comment

Liu is ok… dude got lucky in Athens, there is no way he could have beaten that Cuban dude even he had been 100%

Liu is one of the biggest hypes ever in Chinese sports, second only to Yao Ming..

And he’s just laughing all the way to cash his checks from Nike, Mengniu, Lining and Xisibao xifu..

September 3, 2008 @ 8:23 am | Comment