The Worst Person in China: Zhang Jiangmin
"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