As sports lovers around China applaud Li Na's Australian Open victory, Hubei Province has gone a step further and awarded Li Na 800,000 CNY (132,240 USD), in a move which has drawn extensive criticism online. Net users have slammed the decision to give her the cash award as improper use of tax money.
 

Li Hongzhong, the Party leader of Hubei, along with other officials, met with Li Na and her husband on Monday in the capital city Wuhan, Li's hometown, and gave her 800,000 CNY for "winning honor for her mother country and the people of her hometown," the Hubei Daily reported. Net users immediately questioned the decision, pointing out that Li Na is an independent athlete outside the government-run sports system.
 

In the 1980s, it would not have been considered unusual for the government to give an additional award to an athlete who honored the country by winning a medal for China at an international sports event. But opinions have changed. According to a survey conducted by news portal sina.com, over 76 percent people, or more than 42,700, are against the decision. Another survey on popular news site ifeng.com had a similar result, with 83 percent of more than 100,000 participants disagreeing with the decision by the Hubei government, arguing that the government needs to use proper procedures when spending public money, and that tennis is a professional game which makes a profit.
 

"Why don't they spend the money on more important projects to improve people's livelihoods?" One person from Tianjin asked. Over 9,000 people supported his comment. Others pointed out that the Hubei government had nothing to do with Li Na's success and said it made no sense to give an award to Li now.
 

Li Na opted out of the State-run sports system in 2008 along with three other elite female tennis players. They gained the right to organize their own training, games and tournaments, while giving the Chinese Tennis Association 8 percent of their income from commercial endeavors and 12 percent of tournament awards.
 

Yan Xiaohua, editor-in-chief of website H-sport, said Chinese society loves to make heroes and reward them. "Hubei's award for Li Na, who does not belong to any official system, is part of a promotional campaign for Hubei Province."
 

Yao Jinbo, CEO of 58.cn, a classified advertisements website, described the meeting between Li Na and officials as a "bad show." He said an official "had spent 800,000 yuan of taxpayer money to realize his dream of meeting a star."
 

A lawyer from Guangdong Province has filed a request to the Hubei government to release information about the source of the money given to Li Na and whether the spending meets relevant regulations.

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