简体中文
Chinese children are often portrayed as spoiled little brats raised by over-protective parents, but some of them are trying to rectify their image, in a controversial way.
Fourteen children, from three-year-old toddlers to 12-year-old teenagers, braved the freezing winter by going topless on Monday in a military-style work-out session, aiming to build up their strength.
The People's Daily Online reported that around 11:30 a.m. on Feb 1, the outdoor temperature was about zero degrees Celsius after a snowfall. Fourteen children, including three girls underwent "naked" training under the leadership of an adult on the playground of a college in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province.
The man named He Lieshing has previously attracted attention by filming his four-year-old son He Yide, known as Duoduo, running and sobbing nearly naked in the snow while on holiday in New York. He was also criticized for a video showing his son being forced to sail solo in a dinghy.
This time, Duoduo did not cry. He and the other thirteen children aged below 12 attended the training together. The youngest trainee is He Yide's little sister, who is only three years old.
Children had to carry out a one-hour warm-up exercise first, until they were slightly sweating. Then each of them had a cup of hot ginger tea with brown sugar before they took off their shirts. Boys were naked from the waist up, while girls wore only underwear during the training.
They not only went "naked running", but also did clapping exercises and military boxing. Children also rubbed snow on their bodies, then lay down in snow and rolled over three times in it. After that, they all had to run for 400 meters. The whole training session was finished in nine minutes.
Throughout the entire training, He Lieshing was topless, stood in the front ranks, and completed every excise with them. According to him, these children volunteered to take part in these trainings with parental consent.
In case of emergency, a doctor was waiting alongside with the relevant medicines. Mr He listened to the medical expert's advice and stuck a piece of tape across each child's navel. At the finish line, each child was wrapped in a towel before they put on their clothes. No one reported any discomfort.
According to China Daily, the training session in Nanjing also touched a nerve in China. Some people linked it to news reports that Japanese children, dressed in summer tops and shorts, defy cold weather effortlessly both on daily trips to school and for winter sports. They went on to argue on Weibo that, by following the Japanese, Chinese students can learn to be stronger, both mentally and physically.
Opponents of such techniques express concerns about children's health. Winter is cold season, with many children coming down with influenza. Instead of being exposed to the cold, they argue, children should keep themselves warm.
