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The old and familiar terms that face provides here are high status, good performance, upright moral behaviour, bigger honour, influence, and deference of Chinese athletes and other Chinese. In the face-enhancing situations presented by the press in the sample, the successful athletes were praised elaborately; their success in winning medals for the country and for the people was reiterated time and again. A new set of relationships was being set up: between the individuals and the party government, the people and the country. In addition, the athletes' medal-winning activities were taken as the success of the country, the honour of the nation and the influence of the government. Such presentation not only presented a favourable image of the athletes, but also the country and the government. The motive behind presenting these relationships and images could not be easily detached from politics.
Furthermore, the country's or the government's entitlement to the victories tightens the relationship between the athletes and the bureaucracy and to the favour of the latter. Whether this might really accelerate the masses' sense of identification with government is beyond the capacity of this paper. But surely, the efforts paid by the press to enhance the image of the government and her employees, to entitle herself to successful events rather than failures, could suggest that it attempted to do so. This seems to coincide with what has been concluded for the functions of media sports.
Face And Sports
Two of the functions of media sports were related to integration. First, people need to strengthen their credibility, confidence, stability and status. Second, people need to strengthen their contact with family, friends, and the world (Birrell and Loy, 1981: 297). In the former, considering the enhancing strategies employed by the press, the success of the athletes hired and supported by the government would bring more credibility to the government, and elevate her status. This becomes very important to her because sports is one aspect where she could demonstrate her strength. It is an aspect based on which she could claim a high status in international relations. In the latter, the entitling strategies used by the press would likely strengthen the contact of athletes with the general public who had no kinship ties with the sports delegation. The country, the nation served
68
The old and familiar terms that face provides here are high status, good performance, upright moral behaviour, bigger honour, influence, and deference of Chinese athletes and other Chinese. In the face-enhancing situations presented by the press in the sample, the successful athletes were praised elaborately; their success in winning medals for the country and for the people was reiterated time and again. A new set of relationships was being set up: between the individuals and the party government, the people and the country. In addition, the athletes' medal winning activities were taken as the success fo the country, the honour of the nation and the influence of the government. Such and such not only presented a favourable image of the athletes, but also the country and the government. The motive behind presenting these relationships and images could not be easily detached from politics,
Furthermore, the country's or the government's entitlement to the victories tighten the relationship between the athletes and the bureaucracy and to the favour of the latter. Whether this might really accelerate the masses' sense of identification with government is without the capacity of this paper. But surely, the efforts paid by the press to enhance the image of the government and her employees, to entitle herself to successful events rather than failures could suggest that it attempted to do so. This seems to coincide with what has been concluded for the functions of media
sports.
Face And Sports
Two of the functions of media sports were related to integration. First, people need to strengthen their credibility, confidence, stability and status. Second, people need to strengthen their contact with family, friends, and the world (Birrell and Loy, 1981: 297). In the former, considering the enhancing strategies employed by the press, the success of the athletes hired and supported by the government would bring more credibility to the government, and elevate her status. This becomes very important to her because sports is one aspect where she could demonstrate her strength. It is an aspect based on which she could claim a high status in international relations. In the latter, the entitling strategies used by the press would likely strengthen the contact of athletes with the general public who had no kinship ties with the sports delegation. The country, the nation served
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