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Rewarding the heroes
Workers replace the Olympic rings with the logo of the Paralympic Games at the National Aquatics Centre, or "Water Cube", the day after the closing ceremony of the Games.
Photo: AP
On the day after China celebrated its record 51 gold medals and 100 overall in the Beijing Olympics, discussions have heated up over the best way to reward the athletes who won them.
Wei Jizhong, a retired high-ranking sports official, said the government should focus on ensuring the long-term welfare of its Olympic heroes rather than doling out cascades of one-off cash bonuses.
"We should take into account inflation, future job insecurity and post-retirement welfare when we think of how to reward the Olympic winners," said Mr Wei, who was a sports vice-minister in the 1990s.
"We have to get rid of the rigid pattern of one-off prizes in the form of cash and apartments, which has featured in the rewards system in past Olympics."
The remarks came after Xiao Tian, a sports vice-minister, told the state-run Guangzhou Daily on Sunday that the medal winners would each receive 350,000 yuan (HK$400,378).
A representative of the State General Sports Administration (SGSA) declined to comment on the report.
China gave 200,000 yuan to each of its gold medallists from the 2004 Athens Olympics, 120,000 yuan to every silver medallist and 80,000 yuan to every bronze winner.
An incentive scheme in Hong Kong will see individual athletes who finished in the top 16 of their events receive HK$50,000, while teams will be paid HK$100,000.
Sixty-three Chinese athletes shared a record 51 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.
The SGSA has so far not announced the size of the state bonuses to be given to the Olympic champions, unlike previous Games where details were announced early.
The government has ordered editors and reporters to avoid the subject. The blackout may have been imposed to avoid any possible distractions from the Games campaign. Authorities may also be wary that any lavish packages, once publicised, could be a reminder of the country's yawning wealth gap.
Yan Qiang - deputy editor of Titan Sports, the mainland's biggest sports publication - echoed Mr Wei's view that the scheme should be upgraded.
"Though a few gold medallists would attract juicy sponsorships, the majority of them, especially those in such non-glamour sports as weightlifting, would get most of their bonuses from the government," Yan said. "Careful calculation and diversity are needed to ensure the future welfare of the Olympic winners."
While Chinese Olympic medallists are usually flooded with bonuses from governments at various levels, few have enjoyed schemes that address their post-retirement welfare.
In other countries, however, medallists are routinely entitled to lifetime benefits rather than instant cash. In South Korea, for instance, they receive lifetime subsidies that fluctuate with the cost of living.