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standard was reported as rising with Chinese athletes having their hands in it. Elsewhere, others' reactions, say, crowd applause that was supposed to be ceremonial (to athletes marching out in opening ceremony) or to both playing teams or all winning athletes was highlighted as reactions to Chinese athletes or teams. In the soccer tournament (1986), it was said that if China could enter the last eight, competition would be more fierce. Other vivid BIRG could be found in descriptions such as a Japanese swimmer won because he was aware of Chinese success in previous events; Canada's women basketball team which played well against Brazil, had visited China before the tournament (8 August, 1984); scoring rate of football tournament was higher than that in World Cup having previously mentioned that a Chinese scorer was in the top scoring list (30 September, 1986).
While praising the victorious Chinese athletes, the press did not forget to modulate their tone a bit. Sometimes, in a report which depicted the gold-winning Chinese team, her rival having equal strength was emphasized (12 July, 1987). Inconsistency, inadequacy, need to learn from rivals were also drawbacks mentioned in reporting victorious events.
All the face-saving strategies mentioned earlier could be found in the sample. The most popular ones are meta-accounts and silence/negligence. And in the former, deferral is one frequent way of reporting Chinese failures or defeats. It could be either put at the end of a report (29 September, 1986; 29 August 1985), or put off to some later days. Reinstatement of intentions was also used time and again. When Chinese athletes or team could not win the gold medals, the press would state that silver or bronze medals were good enough for the present (women handball, 11 August, 1984; men's high jump, 13 August, 1984; athletic silver medallists, 16 July, 1987; fourth place in medal standing, 19 July 1987). Even if there were no medals to write about, the press would cite breaking national records as positive elements in the performance of Chinese representatives or even concluded that 'victory and failure were not to be so much concerned with' (loss in women's diving, 2 September, 1985).
Sometimes, the losses or defeats were not directly mentioned. Instead, passwords were expressed in the form of interviews with coaches of other teams (women basketball, 7 August, 1984), questions asked to readers and other authorities of how to improve the situation (table-tennis, 26 September, 1986). Only pity, and not lashes were accorded to the Chinese high-jumper, Zhu Jianhua when he lost in the Olympics 1984 and
56
standard was reported as rising with Chinese athletes having their hands in it. Elsewhere, others' reactions, say, crowd applause that was supposed to be ceremonial (to athletes marching out in opening ceremony) or to both playing teams or all winning athletes was highlighted as reactions to Chinese athletes or teams. In the soccer toumament (1986), it was said that if China could enter the last eight, competition would be more fierce. Other vivid BIRG could be found in descriptions such as a Japanese swimmer won because he was aware of Chinese success in previous events; Canada's women basketball team which played well against Brazıl, had visited China before the tournament (8 August, 1984); scoring rate of football tournament was higher than that in World Cup having previously mentioned that a Chinese scorer was in the top scoring list (30 September, 1986).
While praising the victorious Chinese athletes, the press did not forget to modulate their tone a bit. Sometimes, in a report which depicted the gold-winning Chinese team, her rival having equal strength was emphasized (12 July, 1987). Inconsistency, inadequacy, need to learn from rivals were also drawbacks mentioned in reporting victorious events.
All the face-saving strategies mentioned earlier could be found in the sample. The most popular ones are meta-accounts and silence/negligence. And in the former, deferral is one frequent way of reporting Chinese failures or defeats. It could be either put at the end of a report (29 September, 1986; 29 August 1985), or put off to some later days. Reinstatement of intentions was also used time and again. When Chinese athletes or team could not win the gold medals, the press would state that silver or bronze medals were good enough for the present (women handball, 11 August, 1984; men's high jump, 13 August, 1984; athletic silver medallists, 16 July, 1987; fourth place in medal standing, 19 July 1987). Even if there were no medals to write about, the press would cite breaking national records as positive elements in the performance of Chinese representatives or even concluded that 'victory and failure were not to be so much concerned with' (loss in women's diving, 2 September, 1985).
Sometimes, the losses or defeats were not directly mentioned. Instead, passwords were expressed in the form of interviews with coaches of other teams (women basketball, 7 August, 1984), questions asked to readers and other authorities of how to improve the situation (table-tennis, 26 September, 1986). Only pity, and not lashes were accorded to the Chinese high-jumper, Zhu Jianhua when he lost in the Olympics 1984 and
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