The NBA basketball player Yao Ming was named a national "model
worker" by the government on Wednesday, the Shanghai Municipal
Federation of Trade Unions told Xinhua News Agency.
"The reason we nominated Yao is that he reflects the modern
image of China while being patriotic in the international sports
arena," a federation official said.
Upon hearing the news, the 24-year-old Houston Rockets center
said via his manager Zhang Chi, "I take it as one more honor and
encouragement from my country."
"I used to think 'model workers' were ordinary hardworking
people who left their pay out of account, but now, as well as them,
special 'migrant workers' like me can also receive the award," said
Yao.
"Model worker" is a title that since 1950 has generally been
reserved for the likes of bus conductors, plumbers, miners and
other frontline employees.
This time, along with Yao, private business people and migrant
workers from rural areas are among those receiving the honor.
Not everyone supported Yao's nomination, saying that 'model
workers' should be selected from ordinary people, not rich
superstars.
His supporters, however, said he is not only a basketball
player, but an ambassador representing a brilliant, diligent and
more confident China to the rest of the world.
"We can detect subtle social changes behind the fact that people
from increasingly diverse walks of life are honored," said
Professor Li Qiang, a sociologist at Tsinghua University in
Beijing.
In the late 1970s, the nomination of intellectuals and
businesspeople running state companies reflected a huge shift in
perception of what made someone a "model worker."
(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2005)