This is just as I suspected. Scary. There is much more hate for Taiwanese in China than there is love for Lin's bball skills. After all, basketball is just a game, and people are willing to live and die for their country. Ironically, Lin actually speaks somewhat decent Chinese, just not particularly great. And he has certainly never said anything negative about China (or any country). His speaking skills are just being used an excuse to stir up hatred and voting against him, as anything remotely Taiwanese is despised in China.
Maybe one day Lin will get in as a reserve by coaches' selection instead of through voting. You do understand how ASG selection works right? It'll fit with his life story of constantly having to earn any recognition/accolade. As a Lin fan, I don't see that as a bad thing. I also don't see how he's doomed just because he doesn't get in ASG. If he makes it, I'll cheer for him. I'll believe the Chinese are voting en masse when Kobe's votes or CP3's votes increase by at least 5 million or the top vote-getters in the west is disproportionately higher than the east. Relative to China's population, a few hundred thousand is nothing.
It doesn't matter what Lin says. Lin is associated with Taiwan, along with people with his ancestral background. That's how China views it. One thing that could change this view in China is if Lin plays for the China national team, but again, I can't imagine an American born baller wanting to do that because it would require changing citizenship.
If China wanted to keep Lin out of the ASG, the gap in votes would already be very significant and James Harden would have already surpassed him. His ancestral background has also been researched extensively and that's why people report his Chinese heritage. If it didn't matter what Lin said, the media would have stopped asking him if he considered himself as Chinese or Taiwanese and he wouldn't be asked about playing for either National Team.
I hope you are right. Btw, your sig reminds me that I need to put Horry on my favorite list. Getting crowded.
During height of Linsanity China had live boardcast of Knicks games, I also believe the Christmas Bulls game as broadcasted as well. Those games would have never been there if Lin was not in them. This conspiracy theory is sillier than believing coach sabotage their players on purpose out of spite.
Guilty also for voting for Garnett. Well, not so much that I like Garnett as I want to see him eat Dwight's lunch for laughs. Obviously nobody dominated Dwight like Yao did (Ah, good times, what was Dwight's career FG% vs Yao head-to-head? Like 32%?), but Garnett came in at a distant second.
you can't be serious...... if you look at the list of people who has the most followers on Weibo (China's version of Twitter - because real Twitter is banned by the "Great Fire Wall" in China but not in Taiwan): - a singer of Taiwanese descent (born in Rochester, NY) is #2 with 28,338,422 followers. - a Taiwanese talk show host is #7 with 24,971,895 followers. - a Taiwanese actress is #8 on that list with 24,455,666 followers. BTW Jeremy has 2,992,566 followers on Weibo. this is just one of the examples that show you how untrue your statement is.
Taiwan is actually very powerful in the technology industry and definitely a rising powerhouse the last decade or so, especially in the system memory market. You remember that huge devastating earthquake a while back? That caused RAM prices to double and stay that way for a realllllly long time.
Sorry I know this thread is about the all star ballot, but i feel it necessary to respond to this line of thinking as I believe it to be inaccurate. I think it's deeply irresponsible to say that "China hates all people associated with Taiwan". If anyone takes the time to understand the history of the division between China and Taiwan and the current political issues associated with the two, it's not accurate to say China hates Taiwan. The Chinese governments stance is that Taiwan belongs to China while Taiwan maintains the stance that it's sovereign and independent. How can you "hate" something you deeply believe is part of you? Chinese people therefore (being educated by Chinese media) don't hate Taiwan, but finds the notion of people from Taiwan thinking that they are not "Chinese" offensive. Maybe like asking someone, "are you American" and them responding, "no I'm a Texan". To most people outside of Texas, they would find that offensive but most people outside Texas understand not all Texans think that way. My wife is Taiwanese and we've both been to mainland China multiple times to teach in various universities. We've led teams of people (many of whom call themselves Taiwanese-Americans). When they ask any of them where they are from, it's politically correct to say my parents are from "Taiwan" instead of saying "I'm Taiwanese or Taiwanese-American". When Chinese people hear this, they ask "So you're Chinese then"....meaning they just want to know you identify yourself as Chinese....not distinctly Taiwanese. I've also spent about 15 years in various Chinese specific churches and organizations where there is a strong contingent of Mainland Chinese and Taiwanese immigrants. Unless they're talking politics regarding Taiwan's independence, there usually isn't any bad blood between the two cultures. To use the word "hate" or that China (in general) feels that way about "ALL people" is way overboard....it's a political issue that as with any political issue has a range of opinions from different people. Going back to Lin, he's polarizing because China will claim him as their own, Taiwan will claim him as their own, Asian Americans will claim him as their own, and Christians will claim him as their own.....creating one hot mess of a debate. I don't think Lin has pigeon holed himself as anyone one of these....he's an NBA player when he's on the court who happens to be all of those things. *On a side note, in general there are three "T's" you don't want to argue about in China (Taiwan's sovereignty, Tibet's sovereignty, and Tiananmen Square).
All we can do is keep on voting for James Harden hardcore, I really want him to at least be in the secondary unit and playing some minutes.
IMO that's what give Lin the wide appeal, he's all those things, but not exclusive just one of them as much as some people might want to pigeon hole Lin because of their own issues (cough rocketsfan4 cough). He's Chinese (ethnicity and he calls himself one), Taiwan(because of his family root), Asian American, because he's an American born Asian, and Christian, because some Asians are Christians. Also an Ivy Leaguer, first Harvard NBA player in 6 decades, the amazing under dog story, and a good (with potential to become elite) basketball player. Modesty and charisma helps too. Which is why he's by far the most popular Rocket player and third most popular basketball player in the West.
Paul is going to sneak in over Lin this year....he's been playing superbly well, especially with their 0 loss streak in December. I'm sure Harden will get in with the coaches' vote so at least one Rockets will be represented.
Yes...he is ahead...I'm just saying it's going to be close, but Paul deserves it because of how the Clippers been playing lately.
Thanks for your response. Maybe things are changing, and I will stand corrected if I am wrong. I am judging by my interactions with folks from China who have repeatedly told me these things over the years (including multiple women from China that I dated). Perhaps the younger generation can get over the political bs.
I am glad to hear this. And if I am wrong, I will gladly stand corrected. I have wanted to support both countries but found it hard with the stuff that I have heard. Maybe things are changing for the better, and my information is old news.
AllStars are about WHO FANS WANT TO SEE. Stop whining. Jeremy Lin made basketball relevant to a lot of people who never cared about basketball. He deserves to be there, fans voted.
