儿童节温家宝大秀球技

儿童节温家宝大秀球技
Chinese Premier Shows Off Basketball Skills

Look out Barack Obama, you're not the only world leader who can double as commander in chief of the basketball court.

On the eve of International Children's Day, Chinese state television's main evening news broadcast Tuesday carried extensive coverage of Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to a Beijing elementary school, where the 68-year-old joined in a game of hoops with students.

Clad in a white sleeveless basketball jersey, matching shorts, and black socks and sneakersâ 'remarkably casual attire for a top Chinese leader to wear in publicâ 'Mr. Wen appeared impressively fit for a near-septuagenarian, not to mention surprisingly proficient with a basketball.

The China Central Television footage makes it clear that Mr. Wen's no Yao Ming. The premier isn't much taller than the youngsters he played against (mostly sixth-graders), and they were using junior hoops that were clearly lower than the standard 10 feet for adult roundball. Nor does he actually appear to be a real match for President Obama, who has also tested his skills against studentsâ 'albeit tall high schoolersâ 'and whose on-court skills have inspired more than one video tribute. And Mr. Wen's opponents were clearly playing soft defenseâ 'no sign of the sort of sharp elbows that required Mr. Obama to get 12 stitches on his upper lip after a game with friends and family in November.

But then, Mr. Wen is nearly two decades older than the U.S. president, and until Tuesday not many people knew that he could even dribble a basketballâ 'let alone dribble it between his legs, as he does with a disarming showiness in the CCTV footage. Three years ago, a photo appeared in state media showing Mr. Wen in midair under the basket, taking a shot on a visit with China's Olympic basketball team. But the extent of his skills wasn't clear.

A Xinhua report on Tuesday's visit said Mr. Wen learned 'how to dribble and control the ball' from one of the teachers at the school, but the premier looks like an old hand. The video shows him dribblingâ 'he's clearly left handed, at least at hoopsâ 'down the court and driving several times to the basket in a half-court game of three-on-three. 'One, two, threeâ ¦With every score, waves of warm applause erupted. Wen Jiabao scored six successive shots, sweat visible on his forehead,' says the CCTV voiceover. The report does show him missing one layupâ 'but then he grabs a rebound and sinks it on a second try. The premier also notches up at least one steal.

As he plays, Beijing Communist Party Secretary Liu Qi and State Councilor Liu Yandongâ 'the only woman on China's 25-member Politburoâ 'are shown sitting at courtside, clapping.

Images of Chinese leaders mixing it up with the common folk in casual settings are standard fare for China's propaganda mill, intended partly to soften their image. Tuesday's newscast also showed footage of President Hu Jintao visiting a school, hugging toddlers and crafting a flower out of red paper.

Demonstrations of the leaders' athletic prowess and vigor constitute a prominent subset of such coverageâ 'especially in the run-up to Beijing's hosting of the Summer Olympics in August 2008. Mr. Wen played baseball on a visit to Japan in early 2007, then again with his visiting Japanese counterpart in December 2007 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. Mr. Hu was showcased the following May defeating Japanese ping pong star Ai Fukuhara in a game on a visit to Tokyo. Vice President Xi Jinping, Mr. Hu's heir apparent, was shown two months later kicking a soccer ball during an inspection of the Olympics soccer facilities.

Mr. Wen, a.k.a. 'Grandpa Wen,' has cultivated a populist aura, and has boasted in the past about his love of exercise. His visit Tuesday was meant to highlight the need for physical activity among young people. In addition to hoops, he joined the students for a short run, practices some gymnastics moves, and autographed a basketball. 'When it was finally time to leave, the children gathered around Premier Wen, hollering,' CCTV said. 'They hated to have to go.'
奥巴马(Barack Obama)注意了，你不是世界上唯一能够兼任篮球场主帅的领导人。

国际儿童节前夕，中央电视台周二晚间的新闻联播节目大篇幅报道了温家宝视察北京一所小学校的过程。视察期间，68岁的温家宝和同学们一起打了一场篮球赛。

温家宝身上穿的是白色无袖篮球衫、配套的短裤，以及黑色袜子和运动鞋，对于一位中国高级领导人在公开场合的穿着来说，这算得上是相当休闲的打扮了。作为一位年近七旬的人，他显得十分健康，打篮球的熟练程度更是让人惊讶。

从中央电视台画面可以明显看到，温家宝毕竟不是姚明。比起那些和他一起打球的年轻人（其中多为六年级学生），他高不了多少，而且他们使用的是儿童篮球架，明显低于成年篮球架的10英尺标高（约合3米）。实际上看起来，他也无法真正与美国总统奥巴马抗衡。奥巴马也曾在跟在校学生一起打球的过程中检验了他的篮球技能，但对方是人高马大的高中生，其球场技术还引得一些人为他做了多个视频集锦。而温家宝对手们的防守明显是留有余地，奥巴马去年11月跟亲友打球时导致他上唇缝12针的那种肘击动作，在这里是完全看不到的。

但是，温家宝比奥巴马大了将近20岁，而且在周二之前，很多人不知道他居然还会运球，更不用说胯下运球──央视画面上他就用这种动作炫耀了一把，让人觉得他和蔼可亲。三年前，官方媒体发表一张照片，显示温家宝在篮球架下腾空而起。那是他在视察中国奥运篮球队时尝试投球。但当时不清楚他的球技有多高。

新华社对温家宝本周二视察小学校的报道说，他在从这所学校的老师那里学会怎样运球和控球的，但他看起来更像是一位老手。电视画面显示温家宝在一场三对三半场赛中多次运球上篮，明显是惯用左手，至少在投篮的时候是的。央视旁白说：“一个、两个、三个……伴随着一个个进球，全球响起一阵阵热烈的掌声。温家宝连续投进了六个球，额头上冒出了汗。”画面也显示他有一个单手投篮没有投中，但接着他抓住了一个反弹球，第二次投篮投中。温家宝至少还有一次截球成功。

电视画面显示，温家宝打球的时候，北京市委书记刘淇和国务委员刘延东（中央政治局25人中唯一的女性）坐在球场边，鼓掌加油。

播出中国领导人在自然随意的环境中与民同乐的镜头，是中国宣传机器的惯用手法，其部分目的在于树立领导人的亲民形象。周二的报道也显示了国家主席胡锦涛参观一所幼儿园、拥抱小朋友、用红纸扎花的画面。

对领导人体育技能和活力的展示，是这类报道的一个重要组成部分，特别是在北京2008年主办夏季奥运会之前。2007年年初，温家宝访问日本时打了一场棒球赛，然后在2007年12月，又在北京的钓鱼台国宾馆同到访的日本首相打棒球。第二年5月的报道又显示，胡锦涛访问日本时跟日本乒坛名将福原爱打了一场乒乓球，并击败了对方。两个月后，国家副主席习近平，在视察北京奥林匹克足球场时踢了一下足球。

被称为“温爷爷”的温家宝身上具有一种亲民气质，过去他也曾宣称自己非常喜欢运动。周二的视察是为强调年轻人需要多参加体育活动。除了篮球，他还跟同学们一起绕着操场跑步，做了一些广播操动作，并在一只篮球上签名。中央电视台说：“告别的时候到了，孩子们呼喊着，围在温总理身边，舍不得离开。”