Lao Lishi
来自China Digital Space
Láo Lìshī 劳丽诗
Lao Lishi (b. Dec. 12, 1987) is a former Olympic diver. In July 2020, her Weibo account was suspended for one year.
Lao Lishi was part of China's Olympic diving team at the 2004 summer games in Athens, Greece. She won silver in the 10-meter women's platform, and gold in the women's 10-meter synchronized platform with Li Ting. She continued diving until 2010, when she retired and turned to other pursuits. In September 2014, Lao rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange for Alibaba's Wall Street IPO.
In May 2020, Lao reposted a Weibo post by Fang Fang, the author of a widely-read Wuhan lockdown diary who was turned on by nationalist "little pinks" when the news spread that a translation of her account would be translated in the U.S. The post included a link to a Xinhua story about the death of Liang Xiaoxi, a front-line nurse during the COVID-19 outbreak; Fang Fang added only words of condolence, while Lao Lishi did not add her own commentary. Nevertheless, the little pinks pounced on Lao. Lao pushed right back:
I've gotten all kinds of flak for reposting one Weibo post: I've been told that I'm poorly educated, that I have water on the brain, that I don't know right from wrong, that I'm conniving, that I have no conscience. Ha ha ha! Suddenly I feel so happy, because I haven't lived up to your model. The type you like would dive from ten meters straight into an empty pool. (Source)
As a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, born and raised, I love my motherland and want it to get better and better, for the economy to flourish, for our headstrong civilization to shine, for goodwill to prevail among the people. Is that wrong? I don’t think so. What is wrong for a bunch of spineless trolls to rampage online, bullying honest people, picking on good people, attacking people at every turn with idiotic verbal assaults along the lines of “I don’t like you, get the hell out of China.” Please remember, no one is obliged to hand over the land they love to a bunch of invertebrates so they can make it into their playground. Not today, not ever. I’m a decent person, but I pull no punches! ❤️ (Source)
On July 15, 2020, Lao's Weibo account was suspended from posting for 365 days due to "violation of relevant national laws and regulations." She reacted with the same determination as she had to her detractors:
