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Jin Jing (Chinese: 金晶; Pinyin: Jīn Jīng; born in 1981 in Hefei, Anhui, China ) is a Chinese female Paralympic fencer. She was a torchbearer carrying the Olympic torch amid political protests during the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay in Paris, France, being protected by French police officer from a protestor who, according to ABC News, "threw themselves" at her."

Background and family

Jin Jing was born in 1981, in Hefei, Anhui.

Jin had part of her right leg amputated in 1989 when she was in elementary school after a malignant tumor was found on her ankle and later underwent a year of chemotherapy.

Jin Jing moved to Shanghai with her family in 1995 and learned information technology in a technical secondary school. After graduation she worked as a telephone operator in a hotel in Shanghai.

Career

On July 13, 2001, the day when Beijing was elected the host city for 2008 Summer Olympics, Jin Jing became a member of the Shanghai Wheelchair Fencing Team.

Her career as a fencer is summarized as the following table:

2008 Summer Olympics torch relay

In 2007, Jin Jing turned up for the selective trial titled "You are the torchbearer" which was organized by China Central Television and was chosen to be an Olympic torchbearer. On April 7, 2008, she was the third torchbearer carrying the Olympic flame during the relay in Paris, amidst protests and physical attempts to snatch the torch by demonstrators. She was escorted by French police officers, but when a protestor carrying the Tibetan flag rushed at her, the police officers protected her. According to New York City-based Sinovision, which closely follows the official government line, she protected the torch with her body. During the rest of the relay in Paris French police officers continued to protect her from attempts by protestors to get hold of the torch. Jin was quoted by Chinese Communist Party-controlled newspaper China Daily as saying that she "would die to protect the torch." On April 10, 2008, the International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said "What shocked me most is when someone tried to rob the torch off a wheelchair athlete, a disabled athlete who was unable to defend the torch. This is unacceptable."

Jin has been celebrated in the government controlled Chinese press and on internet bulletin boards. The official Chinese torch relay website described Jin as "heroic" and an "angel". Initially the state media of China censored reports on the torch protest and the incident involving Jin Jing, however it soon reported on the protest and, according Western media, portrayed China as the victim, thus appealing to patriotic sentiments. The Japan-based The Epoch Times speculated that the protestor was an agent provacateur of the Chinese government, as he can be seen on pictures showing him in the company of pro-Chinese protestors.

On her arrival back to Beijing, after the Paris relay, Jin was interviewed by Sohu. Of her experience of the relay, she claimed:

They began lunging towards me, trying to grab the torch from my hands. I tried to hide the torch with my body and managed to keep it from them. I was focused on the three or four separatists attacking me. I'm not sure how many were behind me. I felt people trying to take the torch from me. That's when some of the escort runners , as well as the tourist guide assigned to me in Paris, came over to help me, drawing the attackers away. People ask me how I dealt with the danger. I don't think I thought too much about it. I trusted the escorts around me. They were the ones, along with my guide, that faced the danger.

References

1. ^ Chang, Guoshui and Xiang, Lei “最美火炬手”原是合肥女孩！ Template:Zh icon anhuinews.com, April 10, 2008 Cite error: The named reference "family" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. "Disabled Torch Bearer Becomes Chinese Hero". ABC News. 2008-04-11. Retrieved 2008-04-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. "Olympic Torch Relay". Yahoo News. 2008-04-11. Retrieved 2008-04-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. ^ David 残疾人火炬手金晶用残缺身体保护奥运圣火顺利传递 Template:Zh icon The Official Website of the Torch Relay, April 8, 2008 Cite error: The named reference "career" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
5. ^ Liang, Yan "Handicapped Jin receives hero's welcome for protecting Olympic torch in Paris" Xinhua, April 10, 2008. Cite error: The named reference "xinhua0410" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
6. "Torchbearer exhibits courage in Paris", official website of the Olympic torch relay, April 8, 2008
7. "袭击金晶的人 头天才在伦敦被捕过" (in Simplified Chinese). Sinovision. 2008-04-10. Retrieved 2008-04-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
8. "Golden girl lifts a nation". China Daily. 2008-04-14. Retrieved 2008-04-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. Graham-Harrison, Emma China rages over attack on disabled torch bearer The Guardian, April 11, 2008
10. Ramzy, Austin China's View of the Olympic Torch War Time, April 9, 2008
11. Chen, Lydia "Touche: Assailant meets match" Shanghai Daily, April 9, 2008
12. Zhang, Ning "Handicapped girl wins respect for protecting sacred flame", CCTV, April 10, 2008
13. "Photos: Heroic torchbearer Jin Jing back in Beijing", official torch relay website, April 9, 2008
14. "Chinese angel comes home", official torch relay website, April 10, 2008
15. York, Geoffrey China spins protests abroad to buttress support at home Globe & Mail, April 12, 2008
16. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article3732204.ece Chinese media provokes outrage over pro-Tibet Olympics protests] The Times, April 12, 2008
17. , The Epoch Times, April 13, 2008
18. "Interview with torchbearer Jin Jing". Official Website of the Torch Relay. 2008-04-10. Retrieved 2008-04-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

• Jin Jing's blog: Start from the spirit (in Chinese)
• Jin Jing's album
• Louisa Lim Protests Boost Chinese Torchbearers' Resolve National Public Radio, April 10,2008

• 1981 births
• Living people
• Chinese fencers
• Olympic fencers of China
• Chinese amputees
• Propaganda