Book Chapters by Lawrence Ho
Softpower, Soccer, Supremacy: The Chinese Dream, 2020
It is often said that politics should not interfere with sports. However, the realization of Chin... more It is often said that politics should not interfere with sports. However, the realization of China’s soccer dream might also be determined by another often-neglected dimension: Who is Chinese and who can represent China internationally? The current law prohibits dual nationality and there are strict administrative procedures for non-ethnic Chinese who intend to obtain legal citizenship. In China’s current national team, the majority of players is of Han Chinese origin, while there are only a few members that belong to the country’s other 55 ethnic groups. Mixed-ethnic or non-ethnic Chinese players are completely absent. This is in sharp contrast to Europe and many Arabic countries, which have been utilizing the resources of migrants, refugees, and ethnic minorities to increase their international competitiveness. In fact, most of the top performing soccer nations in recent years seem to have benefitted from an increasingly diverse talent pool. Arguably, this global trend may also affect China’s politics of representation in the foreseeable future. For instance, in recent years, soccer development policies have put greater emphasis on the northwestern province of Xinjiang, where Uyghurs have been identified as promising athletes, reshaping the body myth previously associated with the Korean minority in China’s northeast. From an ideological perspective, a “change of face” in the national team would not only offer a socio-political opportunity to foster national identity and cohesion, but also challenge dominant notions of Chineseness. At the same time, China’s soccer dream can only be achieved in direct competition with other Chinese nationals: The Special Administrative Regions (SAR) of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Taiwan (officially competing under the name of “Chinese Taipei”), are all independent FIFA members and eligible to participate in international tournaments. Nonetheless, their players are also all in possession of a legal “Chinese nationality” and can choose their preferred representative team, at least theoretically. Future regulations currently considered by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) might accommodate more players from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau as “local players” in the Chinese league system, which would expand the Chinese dream beyond its current borders.1 In addition, some national sports associations have started to explore the possibility of recruiting Overseas Chinese that could boost China’s medal output in traditionally less successful sporting disciplines. Previously, such practices were better known in reverse, with foreign countries welcoming Chinese athletes, particularly in table tennis and badminton.
Papers by Lawrence Ho
Crime, Law and Social Change, 2013
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Book Chapters by Lawrence Ho
Papers by Lawrence Ho