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China' s Li Na Win Tennis' Australian Open on January 25, 2014

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January 25, 2014, will remain a historic date for Chinese tennis: on that day Li Na defeated Dominika Cibulkova and became the first Chinese to win the Australian Open. It was her second Grand Slam after winning the 2011 French Open. Officials in Hubei – her native province - were so excited by the event that local Party chief Li Hongzhong and provincial Governor Wang Guosheng set up a welcome ceremony on January 27. They awarded the returning champion Rmb 800,000 ($132,000) as a manifestation of support from the province which has given the country its best tennis player ever.
Unfortunately, it seems that a good part of the country in question does not agree that Ms Li’s prize should be sucked away from taxpayers money. Even more…show more content…
Yet it went to someone who doesn't even need it.” Another user shared the feeling that authorities had wasted resources without any good reason: “instead of sending help to those who are in need, they are here gliding the lily. Shame.”
The story drew so much attention that even official media outlets felt the need to address it. The People’s Daily – usually regarded as the government’s voice – published an opinion piece titled “The government's Rmb 800,000 award to Li Na is against the ethics of public finance.” According to the article, "the government should provide more timely help to those who are in need, and less pointless gliding the lily.” It goes on saying that “Li Na is not short of money, Rmb 800,000 mean little to her. But there are a lot of children in poor areas in Hubei province who are in need of help, some kids need help from the society even to get their winter clothes....” The author concluded wondering why “the government, instead of using the 800,000 Rmb to provide timely help, used it recklessly in awarding the sportsman.” "Whose money is it? Who authorized it? Based on what?” quipped Xinhua, the national news agency, on its official Weibo page.
While opinions are less unanimously negative concerning Li Na’s funereal face, what happened was hardly uplifting for her image. The Xin Min Evening Daily - a paper owned by the Shanghai government - compared Ms Li’s profusion of
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