(TibetanReview.net, Jun07’20) – Retired Chinese football star Hao Haidong had not only called for the ouster of the Communist party dictatorship in his country but also demanded genuine autonomy for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Tibet in his two separate YouTube messages on the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, reported ibtimes.sg Jun 6.
“The CCP was funded by the Communist International and a terrorist organization that overthrew the legal Chinese government,” the report quoted Hao, known to have a residence in Spain, as saying.
The CNN Jun 7 cite him as saying this was the “biggest and most correct decision” of his life.
In an interview with a YouTube Channel alongside his wife Ye Zhaoyin, former World No 1 badminton player, Hao was quoted as saying, “The Communist Party’s totalitarian rule in China has caused horrific atrocities against humanity.” He has accused the party of having “trampled over democracy, violated the rule of law and dishonored lawful agreements.”
He felt that “Chinese people should not be trampled by the communist party anymore and it should be kicked out of humanity”.
The 50-year-old, who led China’s attacking line in football for over a decade, making 107 appearances and scoring 41 goals, read out an 18-point manifesto supporting the ‘New Federal State of China’, which was coined by exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, the ibtimes.sg report said.
The report said Hao, known as the ‘Cannon Hao’ for his outspoken personality, had termed the communist party a “terrorist organization” that “tramples democracy”.
“I think the Chinese people should not be trampled upon by the Chinese Communist Party any more. I think this Communist Party should be kicked out of humanity. This is the conclusion I reached after 50 years of living,” Hao was quoted as saying in the video from an undisclosed location, commenting on the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests, in which Chinese PLA soldiers killed thousands of unarmed, mostly student, protesters.
The report noted that the video caused a rippled effect in China even though YouTube is banned in China.
Hao’s Weibo account, China’s social media platform, which had over eight million followers, was promptly deleted while any mention of his name on Zhihu, a Chinese alternative to question-and-answer website Quora, was also removed, the report noted.
China’s popular sports forum, Hupu, was also reported to have issued a notice banning all discussions about Haidong, as per a screengrab of the post, although it was later deleted. Also, Titan, China’s state-run sports website, was reported to have condemned the speech, calling it a subversion that harms the country’s sovereignty.
Hao was a household name among millions of soccer fans in China in the 1990s and 2000s, and briefly played for English club Sheffield United.
