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BEIJING, May 21 () -- Lottery sales in China increased 26.4 percent year-on-year in April to reach 23.58 billion yuan (3.73 billion U.S. dollars), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Tuesday.Welfare lottery ticket sales amounted to 13.35 billion yuan in April, up 26.1 percent from a year ago, while sales of sports lottery tickets gained 26.8 percent year-on-year to 10.22 billion yuan.The April figure raised total lottery sales in the first four months by 29 percent year-on-year to 83.83 billion yuan, according to the MOF data.
by writers Wang Wen, Cui Yuanlei and Ji ShaotingBEIJING, July 21 () -- Ten years ago when Zhang Shangwu's name made headlines, he was a rising star gymnast, winning two gold medals at the 2001 Summer Universiade in Beijing.Now he has returned to the spotlight - not with pride and glory but with shame and sadness - being reduced to begging after serving a jail term of almost four years for theft.After the money-trapped young man was spotted performing stunts at a subway exit in Beijing about one week ago, a microblog user published his story online. Zhang's fate soon stirred a heated discussion nationwide: why did a promising athlete end up begging on street and what went wrong with him and the nation's athletic system?The 27-year-old applied for retirement in 2003, as a tendon injury prevented him from competing any longer.With a poor education and little skill to secure a job, Zhang originally planned to pursue further education at one of the country's athletics universities. However, he claimed that the Hebei provincial gymnastics team, of which he was once a member, refused to provide the support they had originally promised him.Zhang also accused the sports system of failing to care for retired athletes like him, who as a gymnast was trained from very young age and retired in his 20s without ample knowledge and skills."I have no skills to support myself, so I have no choice (but to perform gymnastic skills to earn some money)," Zhang, from a divorced family, told .However, both the national gymnastics team and the Hebei provincial gymnastics team said Zhang should be responsible for his own fate.Zhang was disqualified from studying at athletics universities after retirement due to his serious violations of team rules, an official with the national gymnastic team said.He was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison in 2007 after being caught stealing laptops and cellphones from the Beijing Xiannongtan Sports School. Zhang had previously been caught stealing personal belongings from his teammates on multiple occasions before his retirement."I had no income, no food at that time, which prompted me to do wrong things. I know I was wrong," he said.Zhang's story triggered public debate over the fates of retired athletes, particularly those who have been left with permanent injuries.SWIFT CHANGESZhang was first seen demonstrating his gymnastic skills in bustling Wangfujing subway station a few days ago, with pictures posted on microblogs to confirm his presence. His appearance was also later confirmed by his former Olympic teammate Xing Aowei.Reports about his appearance quickly flooded media outlets after the discovery. Zhang's life changed within a matter of days, with reporters constantly hounding him to figure out how he ended up begging in a subway station in Beijing.During his interview with , Zhang's cell phone rang incessantly with calls from journalists and people who wished to send him aid. His uncle, grandfather and mother were tracked down by reporters in his hometown as well.Officials from the Hebei Sports Bureau delivered 3,600 yuan (556 U.S.dollars) to Zhang's ailing grandfather on Sunday, as Zhang previously claimed that he was begging to raise money for his grandfather's illness. Dong Lufeng, the director of the Hebei Sports Bureau, said that they were willing to offer him a new job as well.Yang Yang, China's first winter Olympic gold medalist and an International Olympic Committee member, said that she was willing to help Zhang in terms of financial support and vocational training.Chen Guangbiao, a famous philanthropist in China, contacted the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper to offer Zhang a job with his company and invite Zhang's grandfather to live in a nursing home founded by him. All of the expenses will be covered by Cheng's company.WHY BEGGING?Born in the city of Baoding in north China's Hebei Province, Zhang started his gymnastic training at the age of four. He was selected to join the Chinese national gymnastic team in 1995. The highlight of his sport career was the 2001 Beijing Universiade, during which he won two gold medals. However, he suffered a tendon injury one year later and was sent back to the Hebei provincial gymnastic team.After recovering from his injury, Zhang decided to apply for retirement, as he was having conflicts with his provincial team coaches who, according to Zhang, insisted he should continue training.He planned to pursue further education at the country's sports colleges but failed.However, documentation from the Hebei Sports Bureau showed that Zhang violated the Hebei provincial gymnastic team's rules multiple times and failed to correct his behavior, despite receiving repeated admonitions from his coaches.Zhang eventually received compensation worth more than 60,000 yuan (9,273 U.S.dollars) when he retired in 2003, instead of securing a job arranged by the Hebei Administration of Sports, said sources from the Chinese national gymnastic team.Zhang attempted to take up several jobs during his retirement period, but failed to keep any of them because of his poor education and relative lack of knowledge about the world outside of sports.He even sold his gold medals to make ends meet, letting them go for just 210 yuan in 2007."I have no hatred for society. It is the sharp contrast between glory and reality that makes me feel desperate about myself," he said.Zhang Shangwu is not the first Chinese athlete whose post-retirement fate arouses huge concerns. In 2006 former national champion weight lifter Zou Chunlan hit media headlines after she was found living in poverty and working at a public bathhouse.Zou later received aid from the national federation of women to start a laundry business and has been able to support her family. 1 2 1 2
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