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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 is notable as a torchbearer carrying the Olympic torch amid political protests and physical scuffles during the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay in Paris, France.

Background and family

Jin Jing's parents are wage earners. Her father is Jin Jiansheng (Chinese: 金建生), a rusticated youth who moved from Shanghai to Anhui during the Cultural Revolution. In Anhui, Mr. Jin married Liu Huayao (Chinese: 刘华瑶), Jin Jing's mother. 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, Jin Jing 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 broke through the police escort and rushed at her she protected the torch with her body, until the French police drew the protestors away. During the relay in Paris she continued to protect her possession of the torch from attempts by protestors.

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 first on internet bulletin boards and soon in the media of the People's Republic of China. The official and government-controlled Chinese torch relay website described Jin as "heroic" and an "angel", whereas Western media gave her little mention, at least initially.

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 to Geoffrey York of The Globe and Mail, portrayed China as the victim, thus appealing to patriotic sentiments.

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

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！ (in Chinese) anhuinews.com, April 10, 2008 Cite error: The named reference "family" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. Flanagan, Ed China's 'Smiling Angel in Wheelchair' NBC News, April 10, 2008
3. ^ David 残疾人火炬手金晶用残缺身体保护奥运圣火顺利传递 (in Chinese) The Official Website of the Torch Relay, April 8, 2008
4. ^ 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).
5. "Torchbearer exhibits courage in Paris", official website of the Olympic torch relay, April 8, 2008
6. Graham-Harrison, Emma China rages over attack on disabled torch bearer The Guardian, April 11, 2008
7. Ramzy, Austin China's View of the Olympic Torch War Time, April 9, 2008
8. Chen, Lydia "Touche: Assailant meets match" Shanghai Daily, April 9, 2008
9. Zhang, Ning "Handicapped girl wins respect for protecting sacred flame", CCTV, April 10, 2008
10. "Photos: Heroic torchbearer Jin Jing back in Beijing", official torch relay website, April 9, 2008
11. "Chinese angel comes home", official torch relay website, April 10, 2008
12. York, Geoffrey China spins protests abroad to buttress support at home Globe & Mail, April 12, 2008
13. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article3732204.ece Chinese media provokes outrage over pro-Tibet Olympics protests] The Times, April 12, 2008
14. "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