Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

The China Table Tennis Association (CTTA) issued a statement on Saturday, condemning corrosive fan culture and expressing full support a crackdown on any crimes and violations.

The CTTA stated that “fan culture” chaos has severely disrupted the Chinese table tennis team’s training and competitions, negatively affecting the work, lives, and families of athletes, coaches, and staff, while also causing a damaging social impact. 

“The association will collect evidence and hold accountable any organizations or individuals who engage in insults, defamation, slander, or other forms of malicious attacks against the Chinese table tennis team or its members online or in other public venues,” according to the statement.

The statement follows a series of actions by Chinese authorities targeting online harassment and defamation on sports players. 

On Friday, China’s Ministry of Public Security revealed four cases involving online harassment targeting athletes. Among these, a 29-year-old woman from East China’s Jiangsu Province and a 38-year-old woman from Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province were taken into custody for allegedly defaming table tennis players and coaches online. 

Authorities also dealt with a case in East China’s Shandong Province where a 23-year-old man fabricated a defamatory article questioning the legitimacy of a Chinese Olympic champion’s victory. Another man from Hebei Province shared the article widely online. The pair were both given administrative penalties. In Central China’s Henan Province, an 18-year-old woman faced administrative punishment for publicly insulting a gymnast on social media.

The ministry emphasized that the internet is not a “lawless zone” and warned against spreading false information or engaging in personal attacks. 

During the women’s singles final at the Paris Olympics on August 3, which featured Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng, some fans displayed favoritism toward Sun while booing Chen when Chen defeated Sun becoming the women’s singles champion.

Earlier this month, several social media platforms, including Sina Weibo and Douyin, announced measures to curb “an culture” violations in sports, including removing harmful content and suspending related accounts.

During an interview on August 7, after China advanced to the semifinals of the women’s table tennis team event, Chen had urged fans to appreciate the athletes’ determination and approach competition outcomes with a balanced perspective, rather than focusing solely on the results.

Pan Zhanle, a 20-year-old swimming prodigy who recently broke a world record at the Paris Olympics, disbanded his fan group earlier this week. Pan previously mentioned in a CCTV interview that some fans waited for autographs outside his hotel and he said he just “hoped to be low-key and quiet.”

“Most of these so-called fans do not understand or appreciate the professional skills or talents of famous athletes. Instead, they tend to focus solely on the athlete's image and appearance,” Wang Dazhao, a Beijing based sports commentator, told the Global Times. “To support their idols, fans in this toxic culture see no teammates, only enemies. Anyone who hinders their idol's pursuit of victory becomes a target for attack.”

“Those who invade others’ privacy should be punished, while those who do not violate criminal laws should be guided and warned through education,” Wang said.