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Mike Chan

A Hong Kong lawmaker has said he has no concerns about former athlete Wang Junxia being granted residency in the city, after some Hongkongers queried the move.
Former distance runner Wang, 52, had her residency confirmed on Wednesday under the city’s Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, along with her 15-year-old daughter Huang Danting.
It came 29 years after the end of Wang’s controversial athletics career, in which she won 5,000 metres gold at the 1996 Olympics and set several world records – largely under Ma Junren, whom China later dropped as a coach when six other athletes failed blood tests.
Wang on Friday insisted her 3,000m world record, which has stood for 32 years, would be broken eventually.
Legislative Council member Jesse Shang Hailong, who was involved in efforts to grant residency to Wang, said on Friday: “I am not an expert in sports, but if Wang can be an Olympic champion, she must have passed all criteria by the International Olympic Committee. It meant her results were tested, and she’s still a world record-holder.”

He added: “To me, she’s trustworthy, and I believe in her.”
A letter claimed to be signed by Wang and other Chinese athletes in 1995, published in 2016 by Tencent Sports, said they had been forced to take performance-enhancing drugs by coach Ma.
Wang was never sanctioned for doping, and has repeatedly denied wrongdoing since then.
Shang was asked about the value of recruiting a 52-year-old, three decades after her running heyday, as part of a drive to attract quality migrants.
“I think she can contribute enormously,” Shang said, without elaborating.
“There are only so many Olympic champions. Hong Kong would not [open doors] to her either if she wasn’t one … Obviously, we want some newly crowned Olympic champions to come to Hong Kong, but past Olympic champions, we want them to come too.”
He added: “An Olympic champion is the highest possible achievement for human beings, it was never easy to do, and her experience as an athlete is valuable.”
The Post has contacted the Immigration Department, the Labour and Welfare Bureau, Hong Kong Talent Engage, and World Athletics for comment.
Wang spoke to the Post after a business event in Wan Chai on Friday, and was asked the secret behind the longevity of her still-intact 3,000m record, set at the National Games in Beijing in 1993. Her 10,000m world record, set five days earlier, took 42 seconds off the previous best and lasted 23 years.
“If a record is not broken, then it’s my secret? I don’t think so,” Wang said. “All I can say is that at that time I tried my best to push this record to a new level.
“It takes time to break any record, but I think my record will be smashed eventually.
“The best middle-distance runners have gathered together in some competitions to try to break this record, and they are very close.”
She added: “Someone will get to that point, perform beyond their normal level, and find a way to motivate themselves to run faster, and they will break the record.”


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Former runner ‘can contribute enormously’ to city and is ‘trustworthy’ despite doping accusations against ex-coach, Legco member Shang says


Former runner ‘can contribute enormously’ to city and is ‘trustworthy’ despite doping accusations against ex-coach, Legco member Shang says.


Hong Kong lawmaker defends ex-athlete Wang Junxia gaining residency via migrant scheme

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Former runner ‘can contribute enormously’ to city and is ‘trustworthy’ despite doping accusations against ex-coach, Legco member Shang says

Former runner ‘can contribute enormously’ to city and is ‘trustworthy’ despite doping accusations against ex-coach, Legco member Shang says