Yao Ming Voted 2007 Top 10 Most Influential Chinese

Did anyone see this show "You Bring Charm To This World?" last night on Phoenix TV?

http://phtv.ifeng.com/hotspot/07331/#jbhc

Yao Ming was amongst 25 people nominated for one of China’s most prestigious Top 10 lists, an annual list of the world’s most influential Chinese people.

The list is compiled by a consortium of China’s leading media outlets, and the contest is sponsored by 11 of China’s leading TV networks and news organizations, including Phoenix Satellite Television, China News Service, Asia Newsweek and World Journal.

And he won the Sports category list together with the Go Chess player Chang Hao, and the Tibet Climbing Team.

Other winners include:

Life Achievement Award: Yuan Longping, the internationally renowned scientist and agriculturist, the father of hybrid rice

Scientific R&D: Hao Weimin, USFS Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, and a member of the United Nation Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change, Nobel Prize winner (shared with Al Gore)

Cultural/Arts: Jackie Chan; Gong Li and Lin Huaimin

Public Affairs: Michelle Kwan, Elaine Chao and the Chinese UN Peacekeeping Police

The Star of Hope: Qiao Meili, a Special Olympics Athlete

 

Yao Ming was not able to be there in Beijing, but he sent in his Mom to recieve the award for him, and he was connected onto the show with satelitte and gave his thank you speech.

 

Below is the transcript of Yao Ming's Thank You Speech conveyed through video connected over satelitte.

Always as humble as ever......

http://phtv.ifeng.com/hotspot/07331/bj/200803/0329_3049_467677.shtml

In Summary

• Yao Ming: Da Jia Hao (Hello everybody) I am Yao Ming! I want to use a special way to attend the promulgation ceremony, and I thank everybody from the bottom of my heart for your support. Today is a special day as far as I'm concerned, but I would not have got this recognition and honor without the encouragement and support from everybody. I hope I will always receive the same kind of support from everybody in future. Thanks to you all. Actually I was injured and down at a time that I should not have injured. Now all I can do is to have a peace of mind to rest and rehabilitate from my injury so as to participate in the Olympics. Hope there will not be any relapses in my injury/wound.
  
• When asked how he felt about the award, Yao Ming said: My biggest feeling right now has to be (my gratitude to) all the people that had helped me in the past: my team mates, my coaches, as well as the general media, fans and audience. It is for their support that I have become what I am now. It is a great honor to bestow this award to me. As I looked back into the name list of past recipients, there were people like Liu Xiang, Franklin Yang Chenning that are well-known and prominent to the Chinese world/community. That makes me feel there are still a lot of things I need to do, and it also means I have a lot of mileage to cover from now on, particularly so this forthcoming 2008 Olympics in Beijing this year. How should I put it? I thought such an award and recognition for me has come too early.
  
• When asked now that he is no longer that foreign rookie of 6 seasons ago trying to crack into the highly competitive NBA, and that his star power and leadership status in the Houston Rockets had been affirmed, how he felt about being viewed as the Global Image Spokesperson for Chinese, and what he needs to do, Yao Ming said: "First, I have to thank everyone's affirmation/recognition. As the Global Image Spokesperson for Chinese? That's too big a responsibility. I do not pay too much attention/emphasis to this, and I am just striving to complete what I'm supposed to do. This cannot be separated with the education I got from my family since my childhood and the affection bestowed upon me by the society. As to how can I do a better job? I think all I need to do is to think how I can repay the society all the time, regardless it is the Chinese or American society, as both have been of great help to me to my growth and development.

 

C'MON .....this is only the 2nd time this event is organized.

Please check the previous recipients BEFORE you blah blah blah. Ang Lee and Zhang Ziyi were amongst the recipients of the 2006 Award.

http://phtv.ifeng.com/hotspot/331/

And WHY should this be moved to D&D?? Is Yao Ming a Rockets? Is GARM supposedly be a forum where one can post and talk about anything and everything about a Rockets?