Free Archive | Yuan Haoran Suddenly Applies for Political Asylum, What’s the Truth Behind It?

The personal information and experience of Yuan Haoran are as follows:

Yuan Haoran, a member of the Communist Party of China, once served as a swimming referee and was promoted to an international-level chief referee. He is currently the Deputy Director of the Cycling and Fencing Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China. He has served as the technical representative of swimming referees for the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee, the Director of the Swimming Department and the Director of the Swimming Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China.

From August 2017 to March 2024, he served as the Party Secretary and Deputy Principal of the Zhanjiang Diving Sports School of the General Administration of Sport of China.

In March 2024, he was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Cycling and Fencing Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China.

During his career, Yuan Haoran also served as the technical representative and referee for swimming at the 10th and 11th National Games, and participated in the international arbitration work for the swimming events of the 14th National Games. He served as the honorary secretary-general of the FINA Swimming Technical Committee and attended several national swimming events as a technical representative.

On March 7, 2024, the General Administration of Sport of China issued a notice appointing Yuan Haoran as the Deputy Director of the Cycling and Fencing Sports Management Center and removing him from his positions as Party Secretary and Deputy Principal of the Zhanjiang Diving Sports School.

In August 2024, during the Paris Olympics, the Chinese swimming team performed excellently, but the phenomenon of “purple faces” among European and American swimming athletes sparked controversy. In this public opinion storm, a Weibo account named “Medley” became the focus due to its repeated inappropriate remarks. Some netizens revealed that the user of this account was Yuan Haoran, the Deputy Director of the Cycling and Fencing Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China. This incident triggered widespread attention, and the General Administration of Sport of China responded quickly, stating that it had begun an investigation.

Netizens further dug into Yuan Haoran’s historical records and found that he had made multiple inappropriate remarks online as early as 2016, and even made remarks insulting the martyrs of the Communist Party of China. This incident shocked the entire network.

After this public opinion storm, Yuan Haoran deleted all his social media accounts and even applied to cancel his Weibo account. However, according to overseas news, he has applied for political asylum in France, intending to avoid returning to China for investigation. From various signs, it appears that Yuan Haoran’s application for political asylum was not carefully prepared, but was forced to apply for asylum after his “Medley” identity on Weibo was exposed by netizens, because he was very clear about what he would face if he returned to China, especially after the Communist Party of China enacted and implemented the Patriotism Law, not only would Yuan Haoran’s personal career be over, but he could also be sentenced to imprisonment.

Now, discussions about how he will be ultimately handled are still ongoing, and this storm has become a major hot topic in the Chinese sports world. Given Yuan Haoran’s current application for political asylum, and his role as a “referee” for the Chinese swimming team, outsiders speculate that he may further expose more inside information about the Chinese swimming team, such as accusations of doping. This storm is still escalating, and future developments will be closely watched by all parties.