Chinese Premier joins pupils' basketball training, calls for more sports activities for children
Chinese Premier joins pupils' basketball training, calls for more sports activities for childrenHe may be approaching 70, but Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stripped down to a singlet and shorts to show off his basketball skills at Shibalidian Primary School in Beijing's Chaoyang District on Tuesday, earning rave reviews from an adoring public. After practice, Wen told the players that he was "very happy" to join them, saying that building a strong and healthy body would help them in their studies. "Only when children are healthy, can the country have a good future," Wen said. "We must keep a healthy body in order to better serve the people."
Let's get physical: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao shows off his basketball
skills with students from Shibalidian Primary School.u00a0
Jiabao joins local residents in a morning jog in a Tokyo park on in 2010.
File pic/getty images'Grandpa Wen' earned thousands of admiring messages on web portal Sina.com after his turn at a Beijing elementary school, where he dribbled the ball between his legs and performed a series of lay-ups. Though not at the level of basketball-loving US President Barack Obama, it was a rousing performance from the 68-year-old Wen, albeit against children aged about 11 and with junior nets just seven feet high. Wen looked trim in his Li Ning-brand sportswear, despite some heavy breathing after the game. He also underwent some training exercises with the kids during his visit on the eve of International Children's Day. "Premier Wen, all these years the one I admire most is you. I hope you can live until 100," gushed one contributor to Sina.com.
Wen prides himself on his physical fitness and has played baseball and table tennis for the cameras during visits to Japan, China's historical rival. The 'people's premier' also met chart-topping Japanese boy-band SMAP last month during a summit with the leaders of Japan and South Korea in Tokyo.
