Taking a photo with the award-winning rider—by forcefully grabbing the rider’s medal and facing the camera?
The 2017 Taiwan KOM Challenge (Taiwan KOM Challenge) started at 6 a.m. today (the 20th). Riders from 32 countries, totaling 592 cyclists, took on the challenge, including several well-known athletes from the Tour de France and World Championships. Starting from Qixingtan in Hualien, the route ended at Wuling, which sits at an altitude of 3,275 meters. The full course spanned 105 kilometers and is regarded by cyclists as a “must-do once-in-a-lifetime” route.
The top three finishers were the Italian champion, “Shark Guy” Vincenzo Nibali; the Spanish runner-up Oscar Pujol; and the Danish third-place finisher John Ebsen. But then an outrageous scene unfolded: as Tourism Bureau Deputy Director Chen Shuhui was placing the championship medal on Nibali, she forcibly tugged at the medal from below to get a photo for the cameras. Nibali, who had been about to lift his head to adjust his cap, was visibly taken aback and had to keep his head down for two full seconds.
Netizens watching the live broadcast were outraged. After taking screenshots, they uploaded them to “BaoYuan Commune,” commenting, “This is really infuriating. First time posting here, but I’m open to feedback. She’s a deputy director and doesn’t even know basic manners. Taiwanese officials… truly a huge embarrassment #InternationalChampionTreatedLikeADog.” Other netizens chimed in, calling it “outrageous,” “shocking,” “tacky,” and “just awful,” saying it was a huge disgrace to treat a world-renowned champion in such a way.