? read TIME?s article about Chinese preparations for the summer Olympic games.
In the opening passages about a teenage weightlifter, the reporter paints a disturbing picture:
Sitting under the watchful eyes of her coach and a man who identifies himself as the school’s “propaganda director,” Cloud tells me that weight-lifting is her favorite sport. Any hobbies? I ask. “Weight-lifting,” she answers. Anything Cloud likes besides weight-lifting? “Weight-lifting,” she repeats. I try again. Cloud glances at the two men near her. Behind them is a poster of Chairman Mao Zedong, the founder of the People’s Republic and architect of China’s state sports system. “Once, I liked to run in the fields near my village,” she begins softly. The propaganda official steps in. “But now, she prefers weight-lifting,” he says. “Her goal is to become a star athlete and make China proud.” Cloud looks down at her callused hands, which can thrust 35 kg into the air but are now shaking from nerves. “I prefer weight-lifting now,” she says. “I want to become a star athlete and make China proud.”
