Pan Zhanle won’t sign fan’s China flag – Paris Olympics star praised for EQ after gesture
- Pan was greeting fans after his historic win in the men’s 100m freestyle, when a young fan in the audience asked for his signature.
Chinese netizens were praising swim champion Pan Zhanle for his “high EQ” after he refused to sign a China flag handed to him by a fan.
Pan was greeting members of the audience after his historic win in the men’s 100 metres freestyle on Thursday, when a young fan handed him a flag, asking for his signature.
“I can’t sign the flag,” Pan responded, but offered to take a selfie instead.
Defacing the flag is seen as disrespectful, and publicly or intentionally damaging or tarnishing China’s national flag could constitute as a criminal offence.
Chinese netizens praised Pan for his quick response despite having just come out of a race.
“This is the upbringing of a champion! Pan refused to sign on the Chinese flag,” one Weibo user noted.
“Nowadays, public figures have to be cautious. A tiny mistake could form a bad impression. This is common sense, I’m sure his coach has reminded him,” another commented.
