"The Worst Person in China" is both an homage to and a regionalized version of Keith Olbermann’s "Worst Person in the World" segment on his nightly TV show in the US.  In a land of 1.3 billion people, there’s a lot of bad ones.  This irregular column will feature one of them.

The father of China’s controversial 8-year-old long distance runner Zhang Huimin told the media Tuesday that the grueling training he demands of his daughter does not constitute child abuse. For sure, he doesn’t look at all abusive in this photo. On Sunday, China’s “Marathon Girl” completed a Forrest Gumpian 2,212-mile run from south China’s Hainan Island up to Beijing to “celebrate the 2008 Olympics.” She ran this distance in 55 days which means Zhang ran a marathon and a half a day for 8 straight weeks. The girl’s father, Zhang Jianmin who wakes her up for daily training at 2:30 in the morning and rides alongside her during her runs in a motorized bike, told Reuters “I don’t care about what the experts say. Although they accuse me of being cruel or abusive, I think I’m right.” I would say to Mr. Zhang, who is Flumesday’s first-ever “Worst Person in China,” that Hitler, Pol Pot and the 9/11 bombers all thought they were “right” as well. Zhang Jianmin has been training his daughter since the age of 3, when the girl would be awakened in the middle of the night for 2-mile runs and was running half-marathons at age six. While the “Marathon Girl” professes her love for both her father and long distance running and never complains that her legs are sore, one must keep in mind, that, uh, this kid is 8 and all she knows is her sick father. Zhang said, “She’ll be 18 in 10 years time and it will be possible to take part in the Olympics… Whatever she is interested in, I’ll do my utmost to support her.” Whatever she’s interested in? She’s interested in pleasing you asshole, she’s 8 years old. Someone should also point out to Zhang that there are no Olympics in 2018. She’ll have to wait until 2020, given her hips and legs haven’t crumbled. For making his 8-year-old daughter run 35 miles a day for 55 straight days, Zhang Jianmin is this week’s “Worst Person in China.”

•Reuters: China Dad Denies Abuse of Marathon Girl, 8

Well, just until December 10th when God will have to turn Vick’s life over to the Virginia Department of Corrections. The Atlanta Falcons former quarterback appeared Monday to apologize publicly for what he calls “a mistake.” I have been reading all sorts of articles surrounding this case as I find it captivating for many reasons. First and foremost, it’s somewhat enthralling to watch another person’s demise. Second, there’s this underground dogfighting business I knew little about– also interesting. And third, there’s an element of racial division surrounding the Michael Vick case– the NAACP rashly defends him while white protesters immoderately called for his castration. But of all the interesting stuff I’ve read, an MSNBC editorial by Michael Ventre especially resonated with me. Ventre discusses how formulaic these apology speeches have become– making sure to mention “Jesus,” “the kids,” and “redemption.” Vick hit all three. All he said about dogfighting is that it’s terrible and that he rejects it. Ventre focuses on the idea of a “mistake,” and how a 5-year dogfighting ring doesn’t qualify as such. As he writes, “This wasn’t a ‘Gee, maybe we shouldn’t be doing this’ situation. This was completely intentional from the start.” I couldn’t agree more. We shouldn’t be as quick to forgive Vick as we would to someone who makes a actual mistake– a momentary, however horrible, lapse of judgment. Here’s the Vick apology video and a link to the editorial.

•MSNBC: Vick Wrong to Gloss Over Dogfighting in Apology

After a three-and-a-half-month hiatus, Bill Maher’s left-leaning political program “Real Time” returned to HBO Friday night. And while Bill normally spends the hour skewering conservatives and boasting of his sexual prowess, this week Bill dedicated the most cutting segment on his program — the final “New Rule” — to the Chinese-made toy recall. In a three-and-a-half-minute rant, Maher took aim at the American obsession with “the bargain” and how the market for 30-dollar DVD players and 12-dollar jeans has induced the Chinese to produce sub-standard items that are not only crappy, but in some instances, deadly. While on the surface, it may seem Maher is criticizing China, in actuality, he blames the American consumer market for the hazardous toys. As Maher remarks, what can you expect when you “buy toys from a Communist police state?”

Atlanta Falcon and former Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick agreed to plead guilty Monday to federal charges for his role as the ringleader of a dogfighting operation. As Vick awaits what most believe will be a significant prison sentence, the Falcons will be forced to play without Vick, perhaps the most valuable player to his team in all of football. As for the Virginia Tech community, uh, let’s just say Vick’s demise isn’t the saddest thing they’ve ever had to go through. Interestingly, Tuesday the university announced that the banner adorned with the name “Vick” and his number 7 that flies atop Lane Stadium will not be taken down. We forget that when authorities stormed Vick’s Virginia property during a drug investigation in April and found 50 pit bulls, kennels, the infamous “rape stand” and other such dogfighting equipment, Vick played dumb. He claimed he didn’t know why their were all these large cages, dog-killing devices and an apparatus for dog rapes at his house. When his three buddies told authorities they’d rat out their friend and benefactor, Vick had to plead guilty. Not only is Michael Vick a liar, a negligent homeowner and a ruthless animal killer, but he is now the most tragic figure in sports history. O.J. Simpson’s career was over and Maurice Clarett’s career hadn’t begun. Michael Vick threw it all away at the apex of his professional career. And in the most disgusting, unforgivable fashion. As my friend Greg aptly put it, “He would be better off having killed a person.” St. Louis defensive end Leonard Little killed a woman while driving drunk in 1998 and was back on the gridiron that same year. Vick will not be so lucky. He will certainly miss this season and by all expert accounts, Vick will probably be out of the NFL until 2010, when the quarterback will be 30. Who knows if then, whether an NFL team will be shallow enough to sign Vick when he hits the bricks. Though my guess is Michael Vick will return to football, and when he does, I hope his first road game will serve as an over-the-top public shaming. I envision signs depicting dog-drownings, dog barking in place of boos and a hearty chorus of “Who Let the Dogs Out” after every Vick carry.

•Herald Tribune: Vick’s Big Gamble
•WaPo: A Blood Sport Exposed

In a secret ceremony in Shanghai Monday, Yao Ming and his baller bride Ye Li are now officially married. Well, as secret as a 7′6″ man in a tuxedo and a 6′2″ woman in a wedding dress can possibly be. The couple, who have been together since 1999, took care of the marriage certificate on Friday in Shanghai’s upscale Xujiahui district and posed for wedding photos last week. The last piece of the marathons that are Chinese weddings took place Monday night at the chic Shangri-La Hotel in Pudong where only close family and friends celebrated with Mr. and Mrs. Yao. Xinhua reported that none of Yao’s teammates or coaches were invited to the 10-table affair. Because of the buzz surrounding the wedding of China’s biggest international star, the location of the wedding was kept secret, even from the wedding photographer who told the Shanghai Daily that as of Sunday night, he still didn’t know where the wedding would be. Yao hired 100 security guards to make sure the Chinese media would not disrupt the small, private banquet. On Tuesday the couple will travel to Beijing to take part in the 1-year countdown until the Olympics and will host a dinner with friends and teammates to celebrate the marriage. Yao was criticized by China’s basketball officials last month for taking too much time planning his wedding. How can you fault a guy for prioritizing love over a Chinese national team that doesn’t stand a chance at the 2008 Olympics? Congrats big guy and big girl.

•ABC: NBA Star Yao Ming Getting Married

If a Western film has a tenuous plot, plentiful stunts and is about robots that can transform themselves, it is shown in every theater in Shanghai cinemas. But if a Western film has a tenuous plot, plentiful stunts and features a black dude mocking a Chinese guy, it is not shown at all. The third installment of the “Rush Hour” films has been denied by the Chinese agency responsible for importing foreign films for the Chinese movie theaters. According to an E! report Wednesday, the Chinese Film Bureau claimed, “We think the market for the movie is relatively weak.” Yeah right. The market for this film is the same millions of people who went to see “Transformers” last month. So what’s the real reason that a Jackie Chan flick can’t get a release in the mainland? Is it Chris Tucker’s African-American vernacular? Is it the Triad gang members that Tucker and Chan target in the film? Variety Asia said Thursday, “The issue of organized crime is extremely politically sensitive in China these days, as greater economic openness has been accompanied by the emergence of Triad-style gangsters in the big cities.” The official reason, however, why “Rush Hour 3″ didn’t get a theatrical release in China is that Chinese theaters already reached their American film quota. As E! explained:

China’s theaters can’t accommodate yet another big Hollywood film right now, having already imported “At World’s End,” “Spider-Man 3″ and “Transformers” this summer. Not to mention, the Film Bureau also only accepts about 20 foreign-made films a year and schedules designated blackout periods during which only Chinese-made movies are allowed at the box office.

It’s surprising that the Chinese powers that have put the squash on Rush Hour 3 considering the success of American films in China this summer, the fact that the previous two “Rush Hour” films were released in China and how Chinese-made films just don’t have the same draw for Chinese movie-goers than, say, a slapstick action-comedy starring one of “China’s national treasures.” “Rush Hour 3″ will premiere August 16th in Hong Kong and has an official mainland pirated DVD release date of “ASAP.”

•Variety: China Film says no release for ‘Rush Hour 3′