Chinese Olympians from the Paris 2024 Games highlighted sports spirit and perseverance while attending a reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, welcomed the delegation at the reception, praising their excellent performance and sportsmanship.
China secured 40 gold, 27 silver, and 24 bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, marking the country's best ever performance at an overseas Olympic Games.
Ma Long, China's legendary table tennis player and the country's most decorated Olympian with six gold medals, said Chinese athletes have won the respect of their opponents with athletic performance and clean competition.
"Chinese youngsters or Chinese athletes have always showcased their tenacity, confidence and positive spirit in competitions, not only winning gold medals, but more importantly, earning the respect of the opponents and audiences from around the world," he said.
Chinese swimmer Zhang Yufei, who won medals in all six of her events in Paris, said she felt that China has become stronger during her competition.
"The Paris Olympics has left me with the most profound impression of the Chinese sports spirit. From the first day to the last day, both from my personal experience and observing events outside the competition venue, I felt China is steadily growing stronger," she said.
Zhang also shared a heart-warming story during the competition.
"During the mixed medley relay, we were all nervous, worried about losing the gold medal if we didn't perform well. I swam the third leg, and the younger girl swimming the fourth leg told me, 'it's okay, sister Fei, in case you don't perform well, I'm here. I will be here backing you.' I immediately felt a lump in my throat. Our young athletes have grown up, becoming the backbones. When you can't do it, I'm here. When I can't do it, you're here. We're truly a team. I have never expected her to say that. In the past competitions I was the one who comforted the others. This was the first time someone spoke to me like that," she said.
Chinese diving teenage star Quan Hongchan noted the importance of perseverance, encouraging audience to courageously pursue their dreams.
"Don't give up. Sometimes I want to give up halfway through something, but if you don't stick to it, how do you know the result? If you have a dream, pursue it, and don't be afraid of failure," she said.
Chinese Olympians celebrate Paris 2024 triumph, highlighting spirit and perseverance at Beijing reception
A Brazilian national who was deported by the United States in January this year recounted the discriminatory and inhumane treatment he encountered during the repatriation in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV).
Jefferson Faustino was among the 88 deported Brazilians sent by a charter flight from the U.S. to Manaus, a city in northern Brazil, on Jan 24.
During dozens of hours of flight, they were handcuffed, shackled, and denied food and bathroom, and they almost lost their lives to an air conditioning fault, according to Faustino.
"They gave us water in very small bottles on the plane. And I couldn't drink it, because my hands were cuffed to the waist chain. So I had to bend down hard and squash the bottle to spray water into my mouth, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to reach the water at all. Even by doing so, I couldn't get water. When I squeeze the bottle, the water sprayed out and soaked me all over. In the 48 hours of repatriation, they distributed food only one time. It was a spoiled sandwich. The sandwich they gave turned purplish color. I was starving. What could I do? I had to eat," Faustino said.
"In the 48 hours of repatriation, they distributed food only one time. It was a spoiled sandwich. The sandwich they gave me was purple. I was starving. What could I do? I had to eat," he added.
Meanwhile, the American crew enjoyed fresh food and water, Faustino told CCTV.
"No, they had very good food. Every meal, they went over there to heat up box lunches and drink water. The cabin cabinets were full of lunch boxes, full of food, but they didn't give us that food," he said.
The Brazilian deportees protested the unfair treatment and asked for the food and water, but they were not given a response, because of the language barrier, Faustino recalled.
"Yes, we asked. We spoke loudly to them, but the crew didn't speak Portuguese or Spanish, only English. It's a humiliation to us the Brazilians, because we didn't have food and couldn't use the bathroom. The children were crying," he said.
After the plane arrived in Manaus, the air conditioning system broke down and the crew got off the plane, leaving the deportees suffocating in the enclosure.
"People couldn't breathe. The cabin was out of air. I managed to open an emergency exit door and shouted to the police: 'Help! Help! Help!' I yelled for help, asking them to come and save us, because I thought I was dying, I was dying," Faustino said.
The Brazilian government deemed this treatment "degrading" and "unacceptable", with the country's foreign ministry summoning the charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy to request an explanation over the issue on Jan 26.
"The U.S. government should be held accountable. Why didn't they train these people responsible for transporting deportees. Since the Trump administration came to power, it has created conflicts in American society and adopted policies that are completely against democracy and public opinion, disrupting relations between the U.S. and its economic and political partners," said Rinaldo Leal, a Brazilian lawyer.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed on his inauguration day an executive order that called for mass deportations of undocumented migrants. Since then, raids and deportations of undocumented migrants, especially those from Latin America, have continued to ramp up.
Brazilian deportee recounts inhumane treatment during flight from US
Brazilian deportee recounts inhumane treatment during flight from US
