February 22, 2012
New York Knicks player Jeremy Lin, the 23-year-old former third-string point guard who rose to basketball stardom overnight after leading his team to a series of surprise victories, has taken the sports and media worlds by storm with his story and his faith. However, Chinese media has been notably silent about Lin, an indication that his Taiwanese background and devout Christianity might not be sitting well with government censors, International Christian Concern reports. Last week, China Central Television's sports channel ran a taped football match instead of a live broadcast of Lin leading the Knicks to victory with a last-second three-pointer, leaving Chinese basketball fans questioning why Chinese TV has not shown Lin's games. Additionally, a news report on Chinese TV translated a comment from a New Yorker interviewed in English who referenced God -- "I love the fact that [Lin] gave praise to his team and to God" -- into simply "I love him for praising his team."
