Eighteen-year-old Zhou Yang became a national hero after she won a gold medal in the women's 1,500 meters short-track speed skating during the Vancouver Winter Olympics last month. But the girl from a poor family in the northeastern rustbelt of Jilin province also made herself an idol of millions of Chinese youngsters with her unconventionally candid remarks in front of the TV camera after the award ceremony: Zhou didn't thank China first; she thanked her parents instead--and just her parents.
18岁的周洋上个月在温哥华冬奥会赢得短道速滑女子1500米比赛金牌之后成为了中国的民族英雄。但这个来自中国东北吉林省一个贫困家庭的小姑娘在颁奖 仪式之后面对电视摄像机表述了不同寻常的坦率言语，此举还让她成为数百万中国年轻人的偶像：她没有先感谢祖国，却感谢了自己的父母，而且只感谢了自己的父 母。
The gold medal will bring a lot of changes to my life. I will be more confident and it will improve the life of my parents, Zhou told China Central Television on that day. Such straight talk breaks the tradition of Chinese athletes feeling obliged to thank the government or at least the motherland first and on most occasions, even avoiding the reference to family or themselves.
周洋当天对中国中央电视台说，拿了金牌以后会改变很多，会更 有信心，也可以让我爸我妈生活得更好一点。这种直率的话语打破了中国运动员的传统：在大多数情况下必须先感谢政府或至少先感谢祖国，甚至避免谈及家人或他 们自己。
However, apparently not everyone appreciates Zhou's love of her family and hopes of a better life.
One of China's top sports officials criticized the gold medalist Sunday during a group discussion of the annual meeting of China's legislature.
然而，显然并非所有人 都欣赏周洋对家人的爱及她改善生活的愿望。一位中国高级体育官员周日在中国政协会议的小组讨论中批评了这位金牌得主。
于再清在政 协会议上批评周洋
Yu Zaiqing, deputy director of the National Sports Bureau and a vice chairman of the International Olympic Committee, told fellow lawmakers, "It's fine to thank your mom and dad (for the gold medal) but one needs to thank the country first and foremost."
中国国家体育总局副局长、国际奥委会副主席于再清对政协委员会说，感谢你爹你妈没 问题，首先还是要感谢国家。
Yu called Zhou a kid and said "while the Western way of expression_r_r_r_r is very good, there were things in her heart that the kid didn't fully express." He was of course referring to the mandatory patriotic element.
于再清称周洋是个小孩儿，并表示，西方表达方式很好，但是小孩儿有些心 里话没有表述出来。他当然是指必须在得奖感言中加入爱国主义元素。
We know very well how much the country needs to invest in the athletes in order to make them champions. The kids also know very well that their coaches have treated them like their own children, Yu said.
于再清说，体育人才能够获得冠军，国家投入多少，我们清楚， 小孩儿也知道，教练都把他们当自己孩子。
Yu might have thought such commentary was totally inoffensive but it has drawn a widespread lashing from netizens, especially the young ones, who overwhelmingly came out in support of Zhou Yang and questioned Yu's "Thank the motherland first" reprimand.
于再清可能觉得此类评述完全没有恶意，但却受到了网民们、特别是年轻网民的广泛指责。他们以压倒性的多数力挺周洋并对于 再清“首先感谢祖国”的训斥表示质疑。
You are the champion. That's why the motherland embraces you. If you aren't, only your mom would hug you, commented a netizen by the name of Chen Danling.
一位名叫陈丹伶的网民评论说，你是冠 军，祖国妈妈拥抱你。不是冠军，只有亲妈拥抱你。
冯小刚：感谢父母没有错 周洋改口很可悲
昨日下午，在 政协分组讨论会上，犹豫了很久的冯小刚终于忍不住开口，对奥运冠军“感谢门”发表看法。
冯小刚首先表态，“我不太同意这位体育 官员的批评”，我觉得一个人，他要发表什么感言，不能是你教给他怎么说，你应该让他真实地表达他的感情，不管是电影得了奖还是拿了冠军，你都应该真实地表 达感情。不能规定你应该怎么说。另外，“我觉得，感谢父母没有错。”
作为一个政协委员，冯小刚说道。“更可悲的是，记者再去采 访的时候，这孩子改口了，重新说了一套感言，把父母排到第五位”。“我觉得这就更可悲了，这事越抹越黑了”。冯小刚提出，特别希望不要给这位世界冠军压 力，首先说感谢国家也没错，因为是真实的感受，感谢父母更没错。
白岩松：国家应为周洋骄傲正常官员不会那么说
我一直认为，“先爱国再爱父母”像是人为制造的一句话，稍正常一点的官员不该这么没素质，果真，有委员站出来证实，根本没有批周洋不爱国家。
没必要再讨论这个问题，仿佛很热其实已经out；唯一让人担心的是——周洋改口了，先感谢国家再感谢父母。不知是因为压力还是授意，反正 不好。一个十八岁的孩子已经学会挑好听的说，我们很难过。
所以，周洋，以及所有会夺冠和不会夺冠的运动员，为父母，为你自己而 努力，一点没错。放心地说，自由地做，这是你们的权利。