On February 19, NBA star Jeremy Lin pleaded with the Taiwanese media to respect the privacy of his relatives in Taiwan, who he said have been “bombarded” since his recent rise to prominence. Lin’s recent jaw dropping court performances have not only garnered a fanatical following for the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden, but also worldwide.
“Linsanity”, as it is being called, has especially taken hold in Taiwan, his parents’ birthplace. Taiwan’s media has dedicated extensive coverage to the new darling of American basketball, dubbing him the “Glory of Taiwan.” The Associated Press also carried a report entitled “Ecstatic Taiwanese claim Knicks’ Lin as their own” to describe Taiwan’s pride in Lin.
Lin’s roots
Lin Gie-ming, Jeremy Lin’s father, was born in Changhua, a county in central Taiwan. After graduating from the Electronic Engineering Department at National Taiwan University, he and his wife, Shirley, moved to the US in 1977 for graduate school. Upon receiving his PhD in electrical engineering, Lin senior and his wife moved to Palo Alto, California.
Jeremy Lin’s maternal grandmother, Elaine Itzu Chen, was born to a rich family in Zhejiang, a coastal province of China. She moved to Taiwan in 1949, and emigrated to the US in 1969, practicing medicine in New York. She is a devout Christian and her faith has been passed on to Lin’s parents and two brothers.
With Lin’s fame in the US, his 85-year-old paternal grandmother, Lin Chu A-mian, has become the focus of Taiwan’s media. She is flooded with questions like “Is Jeremy Taiwanese or Chinese?”, “Does he have girlfriends?”, ”When did he start playing basketball?”, or “What kinds of Taiwanese snack is he fond of?” Like many second generation Taiwanese Americans, Lin does not speak Mandarin. Although his parental grandmother sees him as Taiwanese, Jeremy has grown up imbued with American culture and is a product of the US educational system. Except for occasional family trips to Taiwan, he does not have a deep understanding of Taiwan. However, this has not stopped basketball fans or everyday Taiwanese from catching Linsanity.
Fostering Taiwan’s identity through sports
This is not the first time that the Taiwanese people have become so ecstatic about a sport. In 1969, Taiwan sent a baseball team to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to participate in the Little League Baseball World Series, and they went on to win the championship. At that time, the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan suffered a series of diplomatic setbacks due to the isolation imposed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In 1971, the ROC withdrew from the United Nations after the China seat was given to the PRC and the ROC government tried to compensate for this loss by supporting international sports competition as a substitute for political participation in the world. The people of Taiwan sought to find heroes and a new identity.
Taiwan’s little league baseball teams (11-13 years old) competed in championships on the other side of the globe and people stayed up well past midnight to watch the live broadcasts of the games. These young baseball players regained a part of Taiwan’s national pride, winning nine Little League World Series Championships in the 13 years from 1969 to 1982.
Taiwan’s senior leagues (14-16 years old) and big leagues (16-18 years old) under the sponsorship of the Little League World Series, have also been successful. In total, Taiwan won 17 Little League World Series Championships from 1969 to 1996.
Few Taiwanese sport icons
While Taiwan has produced some great talent over the last few decades, the best players are usually courted to play for professional teams in Japan and the US. Especially prominent is Wang Chien-ming, formerly with the New York Yankees and now with the Washington Nationals. As the first Taiwanese player to achieve prominence in the American major league baseball, he automatically became a national hero.
Golf is another popular game on the island, with regular players numbering close to half a million and the total number enjoying the sport totaling over two million. It is definitely a big deal for players to watch golf tournaments in the US, Europe or Japan. This usually involves a couple of hours driving to and from the golf course, along with buying a ticket. Yet even with the large pool of players, few would watch broadcasted golf competitions, despite the success of Taiwan’s Yani Tseng.
In August 2011, Tseng, 23, a golf prodigy, defended her title at the Women’s British Open, becoming the first defending winner at the Women’s British Open as a major. Her five major titles made her the youngest player, male or female, to win five major championships, and she is currently ranked as the world’s number 1 woman golfer.
The Apple Daily reported that the Reignwood International Group in Beijing offered Tseng a sponsorship contract of up to NT$1 billion (US$33.3 million) on one condition – that she changed her citizenship to Chinese. Tseng declined, saying, “I grew up in Taiwan. I play golf in Taiwan. I have always been proud that I am Taiwanese. I am very blessed to be Taiwanese, and I have the people of Taiwan behind me.”
Both Wang and Tseng grew up and were educated in Taiwan.
Stereotypes of book versus brawn
The general stereotype most people get from Chinese-Americans is that they are good at school work, but not in sports. Under the influence of Confucianism, most ethnic Chinese parents emphasize the importance of education, equating higher education with higher social and financial status. Lin’s parents may have thought likewise when they named their son Shu-hao meaning “Pride in the books” in Chinese. Lin graduated from Harvard University, and also excelled on the basketball courts there, realizing the dual dream of excelling both in education and sports.
Most people think that Chinese people are good at less physically demanding sports or competitions (such as baseball, golf, or table tennis), but are not able to compete with other ethnic groups in the physical sports like basketball, football or rugby. The fact that Lin excelled at both helps to break that stereotype.
It is not a secret, the Journalist magazine commented, that Lin wishes to be a Christian preacher after his basketball career comes to an end. In interviews, Lin always attributes his good fortunate to God, when he is not crediting his teammates or coach. Almost all the American fans speak highly of his humbleness and constancy of faith.
Another thinking on Linsanity
In a letter to the United Daily News, Chen Yu-hsuan, a college student, wrote, “We are proud of Jeremy Lin for his outstanding performance in American basketball. Yet we are asking why Taiwan is not able to cultivate a healthy sports environment to nurture more sports stars? Strictly speaking, Jeremy Lin’s success is due to the result of American training. As such, it may be far-fetched to call him the “Glory of Taiwan” just because his parents happened to be Taiwanese.”
Taiwan’s Awakening News Network reported that internet users believe that Lin has been deified by Taiwan’s media. Most net surfers blame the media for the fanaticism of Lin’s coverage, yet failing to mention a single word about other important issues and international news, such as meat additives concerning the health of Taiwanese who eat US beef, the Syrian government’s brutal crackdown on its own people, and the Greek debt crisis. All this shows the unprofessional nature of Taiwanese media.
The paper also points out that the Taiwanese media reports about Jeremy Lin’s success are superficial and irrelevant. The focus of most media coverage is on Lin’s identity issue, love affairs or business opportunities, but do not dig deeper to explore why Taiwan’s education policy cannot produce a sports star.
TV variety show tycoon Wang Wei-zhong said in an interview on Cti television, that “the NBA remains in the doldrums at the box office in the Chinese market. Only now they see Jeremy Lin’s sudden emergence as an opportunity for making a fuss to raise its popularity.” The Central News Agency reported that David Shoemaker, the CEO of China’s NBA, agrees that Lin enhances the NBA ratings in China and also boosts the sales performance of NBA products, which have been gradually declining since the retirement of Chinese player Yao Ming.
It remains to be seen whether Jeremy Lin is able to exert a lasting influence or whether Linsanity be short-lived. Only time will tell if the NBA can take advantage of Linsanity to save its declining Chinese market. After all, Jeremy Lin is an authentic Asian player, which at least will bring some satisfaction to the people of Taiwan, and will hopefully ensure his popularity on the island for some time to come.
