Olympic badminton player Lin Dan demands unpaid salary – China latest society and culture news
A summary of the top news in Chinese society and culture May 16, 2017. Part of the daily The China Project news roundup "China’s plan for Pakistan, and drone registration."
Lin Dan is a professional badminton player from China. He is a two-time Olympic champion and five-time World Champion and became the first men’s singles player to retain the Olympic gold medal by winning in 2008. Recently, he attracted attention from the media not because of his achievements or his extramarital affair with actress Zhao Yaqi last year, but because he’s asking for salary worth 4,000,000 yuan ($588,200) owed to him, plus salary owed to six other players by the club they have played for since 2016.
In a Weibo post (in Chinese), Lin said he had participated in all the games required by the club but neither he nor his six fellow players have received any payments from the club. Many internet users supported Lin’s act of demanding his unpaid salary. One commenter said (in Chinese), “Absolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of athletes! Don’t say that Lin Dan doesn’t need this amount of money. He is not only protecting his own rights but also protecting other athletes’ rights.”
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