Chinese Authorities Halt Lavish Fan Birthday Celebrations for Athletes Using Commercial Screens
The General Administration of Sport of China has called for an end to lavish fan birthday celebrations for athletes, such as renting large commercial screens, citing concerns over the occupation of public resources and infringement of portrait rights. These activities, often seen for athletes like table tennis star Wang Chuqin, are also believed to interfere with athletes' preparations.
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- 📰 Published: May 10, 2026 at 19:20
- 🔍 Collected: May 10, 2026 at 19:31 (11 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 10, 2026 at 19:54 (22 min after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency, Taipei, May 10th) In recent years, fans of well-known Chinese athletes, such as Wang Chuqin, have frequently spent money to rent large commercial screens to publicly celebrate their birthdays, or organized fan groups to gather in public places for celebrations. Officials from China's General Administration of Sport warned today that such activities occupy a large amount of public resources and can easily interfere with athletes' preparations for competitions. The public should abide by relevant laws and regulations, and not organize or participate in activities such as athlete birthday celebrations.
CCTV News reported that a responsible official from China's General Administration of Sport said that the administration has noticed that recently, in many places across the country, there have been activities related to celebrating the birthdays of some Chinese national team athletes, such as displaying athlete photos on large commercial screens and fans gathering to show support.
The official directly pointed out that these activities not only occupy a large amount of public resources but also easily interfere with athletes' preparations for competitions. At the same time, the organizers of the activities, shopping malls, etc., are suspected of infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of athletes by unauthorized use of their portraits.
The official said that they hope everyone will pay attention to the athletes' performance on the field and cheer them on. Everyone should also remain rational, abide by relevant laws and regulations, and not organize or participate in activities such as athlete birthday celebrations.
China's famous table tennis player Wang Chuqin is the athlete whose public birthday celebrations by fans are most common. On his birthday, May 11th last year, his fans rented large commercial screens in crowded areas of 23 cities, including Beijing Guomao, Shanghai Bund, and Chengdu Taikoo Li, simultaneously playing congratulatory videos of "Happy Birthday Wang Chuqin," which attracted attention.
Tomorrow happens to be Wang Chuqin's birthday, and his fans had planned to further expand the scale and scope of the celebration. However, due to Wang Chuqin's public opposition, the fan celebration activities were urgently called off.
In addition to Wang Chuqin, another famous Chinese table tennis player, Sun Yingsha, also had fans rent large commercial screens in multiple cities to celebrate her birthday simultaneously, and even arranged a sunflower sea for her on the street to celebrate her birthday. Fans of other famous active and retired table tennis players such as Chen Meng and Zhang Jike, as well as famous diver Chen Yuxi, have also engaged in similar behaviors. (Edited by: Qiu Guoqiang / Tian Ruihua) 1150510
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(Central News Agency, Taipei, May 10th) In recent years, fans of well-known Chinese athletes, such as Wang Chuqin, have frequently spent money to rent large commercial screens to publicly celebrate their birthdays, or organized fan groups to gather in public places for celebrations. Officials from China's General Administration of Sport warned today that such activities occupy a large amount of public resources and can easily interfere with athletes' preparations for competitions. The public should abide by relevant laws and regulations, and not organize or participate in activities such as athlete birthday celebrations.
CCTV News reported that a responsible official from China's General Administration of Sport said that the administration has noticed that recently, in many places across the country, there have been activities related to celebrating the birthdays of some Chinese national team athletes, such as displaying athlete photos on large commercial screens and fans gathering to show support.
The official directly pointed out that these activities not only occupy a large amount of public resources but also easily interfere with athletes' preparations for competitions. At the same time, the organizers of the activities, shopping malls, etc., are suspected of infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of athletes by unauthorized use of their portraits.
The official said that they hope everyone will pay attention to the athletes' performance on the field and cheer them on. Everyone should also remain rational, abide by relevant laws and regulations, and not organize or participate in activities such as athlete birthday celebrations.
China's famous table tennis player Wang Chuqin is the athlete whose public birthday celebrations by fans are most common. On his birthday, May 11th last year, his fans rented large commercial screens in crowded areas of 23 cities, including Beijing Guomao, Shanghai Bund, and Chengdu Taikoo Li, simultaneously playing congratulatory videos of "Happy Birthday Wang Chuqin," which attracted attention.
Tomorrow happens to be Wang Chuqin's birthday, and his fans had planned to further expand the scale and scope of the celebration. However, due to Wang Chuqin's public opposition, the fan celebration activities were urgently called off.
In addition to Wang Chuqin, another famous Chinese table tennis player, Sun Yingsha, also had fans rent large commercial screens in multiple cities to celebrate her birthday simultaneously, and even arranged a sunflower sea for her on the street to celebrate her birthday. Fans of other famous active and retired table tennis players such as Chen Meng and Zhang Jike, as well as famous diver Chen Yuxi, have also engaged in similar behaviors. (Edited by: Qiu Guoqiang / Tian Ruihua) 1150510
Choose to stand with the facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency's "First-hand News" APP to get the latest news instantly.
Text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.