|s=|p=Fànlǜ Liánméng|poj=Huān-le̍k-liân-bêng|altname=Pan-Blue Force|t2=|s2=|p2=Fànlǜ Jūn|poj2=Huān-le̍k-kun}}

The Pan-Green Coalition or Pan-Green Camp, is an informal political alliance of the Republic of China, commonly known as "Taiwan", consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), and the minor Taiwan Independence Party (TAIP). The name comes from the colours of the Democratic Progressive Party, which originally adopted green in part because of its association with the environmental movement. In contrast to the Pan-Blue Coalition, the Pan-Green Coalition favors Taiwan independence over Chinese reunification, although members in both coalitions have moderated their policies to reach voters in the center.

This strategy is helped by the fact that much of the motivation that voters have for voting for one party or the other are for reasons that have nothing to do with relations with mainland China. This is particularly true among swing voters. For much of the 1990s the parties which later formed the Pan-Green Coalition greatly benefited from the perception that they were less corrupt than the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) . However, due to the controversies and the alleged corruption cases involving the former DPP nominated President Chen Shui-bian, the public perception of the Coalition is seemed to have been altered somewhat.

The Pan-Green Coalition formed in the aftermath of the 2000 ROC Presidential election, after which Lee Teng-hui was expelled from the Kuomintang and created his own party, the Taiwan Solidarity Union, which maintains a pro-independence platform.

The internal dynamics of the Pan-Green Coalition are different from those of the Pan-Blue coalition. Unlike the Pan-Blue coalition, which consists of relatively equal-sized parties with very similar ideologies, the pan-green coalition contains the DPP, which is much larger and more moderate than the TSU. So rather than coordinating electoral strategies, as in the case of the parties within the Pan-Blue coalition, the presence of the TSU keeps the DPP from moving too far away from its Taiwan independence roots. In local elections competition tends to be fierce between Pan-Green candidates from different parties and, as a rule, joint candidates are not proposed.

The Green Party Taiwan is not part of the Pan-Green Coalition.

See also

Politics of the Republic of China

Pan-Blue Coalition

Pan-Purple Coalition

External links

Taipei Times editorial on the colored alliances

Category:Politics of Taiwan Category:Coalition of parties Category:Taiwan independence movement Category:Secession in China Category:Secessionist organizations in Asia

de:Pan-grüne Koalition es:Coalición pan-verde fr:Coalition pan-verte ko:범록연맹 it:Coalizione pan-verde ja:泛緑連盟 pl:Zieloni (Tajwan) sv:Pan-gröna koalitionen zh:泛綠

Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
Name	Yao Ming
Height ft	7 |height_in 6
Weight lb	310
Position	Center
Birth date	September 12, 1980
Birth place	Shanghai, China
Nationality	Chinese
Draft round	1
Draft pick	1
Draft team	Houston Rockets
Draft year	2002
Years1	1997–2002 |team1 Shanghai Sharks (China)
Years2	– |team2 Houston Rockets
Career start	1997
Career end	2011
Highlights	8× NBA All-Star (–, ) 2× All-NBA Second Team (, ) 3× All-NBA Third Team (, , ) NBA All-Rookie First Team () 2002 FIBA World Championship All-Tournament Team 3× FIBA Asian Championship MVP (2001, 2003, 2005) }}

}}

Title	Yao Ming
Collapse	yes
S	姚明
T	姚明
Showflag	st
P	Yáo Míng
Mi	}}

Yao Ming (born September 12, 1980) is a retired Chinese professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As of the 2010–11 NBA season, he was the tallest player in the NBA, at .

Yao, who was born in Shanghai, started playing for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager, and played on their senior team for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), winning a championship in his final year. After negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to secure his release, Yao was selected by the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. Yao was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBA Team five times. He reached the NBA Playoffs four times, and the Rockets won a first-round series in the 2009 postseason, their first playoff series victory since 1997. However, Yao missed 250 regular-season games due to injury in his final six seasons.

He is one of China's best-known athletes, with sponsorships with several major companies. His rookie year in the NBA was the subject of a documentary film, ''The Year of the Yao'', and he co-wrote, along with NBA analyst Ric Bucher, an autobiography titled ''Yao: A Life in Two Worlds''.

Career in China

Early life and CBA career

Yao is the only child of 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Yao Zhiyuan and 6 ft 3 in (1.90 m) Fang Fengdi, both of whom were former professional basketball players. At , Yao weighed more than twice as much as the average Chinese newborn, and grew to be 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) by age ten. At that age, he was examined by sports doctors, who predicted he would grow to 7 feet 3 inches (2.20 m). He began playing basketball at age nine, and went to a junior sports school at the same age.

Yao first tried out for the Shanghai Sharks junior team of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) when he was 13 years old, and practiced for 10 hours a day to make the team. After playing with the junior team for four years, Yao joined the senior team of the Sharks at age 17, and averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds a game in his rookie season. However, his next season was cut short when he broke his foot for the second time in his career, which Yao said decreased his jumping ability by four to six inches (10 to 15 cm). The Sharks made the finals of the CBA in Yao’s third season and again the next year, but lost both times to the Bayi Rockets. When Wang Zhizhi left the Bayi Rockets to become the first NBA player from China the following year, the Sharks finally won their first CBA championship. During the playoffs in his final year with Shanghai, Yao averaged 38.9 points and 20.2 rebounds a game, while shooting 76.6% from the field, and made all 21 of his shots during one game in the finals.

Entering the NBA Draft

Yao was pressured to enter the NBA Draft in 1999 by Li Yaomin, the deputy general manager of the Shanghai Sharks. Li also influenced Yao to sign a contract for Evergreen Sports Inc. to serve as his agent. The agreement entitled Evergreen to 33% of Yao's earnings, but the contract was later determined to be invalid.

When Yao decided to enter the 2002 NBA Draft, a group of advisers was formed that came to be known as “Team Yao”. The team consisted of Yao’s negotiator, Erik Zhang; his NBA agent, Bill Duffy; his Chinese agent, Lu Hao; University of Chicago economics professor John Huizinga; and the vice president for marketing at BDA Sports Management, Bill Sanders. Yao was widely predicted to be picked number one overall. However, some teams were concerned about Yao's NBA eligibility due to uncertainty over whether the CBA would let Yao play in the United States.

Shortly after Wang Zhizhi refused to return to China to play for the national team and was subsequently banned from playing for China, the CBA stipulated that Yao would have to return to play for the national team. They also said they would not let him go to the United States unless the Houston Rockets would take him first overall. After assurances from Team Yao that the Rockets would draft Yao with their number one pick, the CBA gave permission on the morning of the draft for Yao to play in the U.S. When the Rockets selected Yao with the first pick of the draft, he became the first international player ever to be selected first overall without having previously played U.S. college basketball.

NBA career

Initial years (2002–2005)

Yao did not participate in the Rockets' pre-season training camp, instead playing for China in the 2002 FIBA World Championships. Before the season, several commentators, including Bill Simmons and Dick Vitale, predicted that Yao would fail in the NBA, and Charles Barkley said he would "kiss [Kenny Smith's] ass" if Yao scored more than 19 points in one of his rookie-season games. Yao played his first NBA game against the Indiana Pacers, scoring no points and grabbing two rebounds, and scored his first NBA basket against the Denver Nuggets. In his first seven games, he averaged only 14 minutes and 4 points, but on November 17, he scored 20 points on a perfect 9-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line against the Lakers. Barkley made good on his bet by kissing the buttock of a donkey purchased by Smith for the occasion (Smith's "ass").

In Yao's first game in Miami on December 16, 2002, the Heat passed out 8,000 fortune cookies, an Asian stereotype. Yao was not angry with the promotion because he was not familiar with American stereotypes of Chinese. In an earlier interview in 2000, Yao said he had never seen a fortune cookie in China. He guessed it must have been an American invention.

Before Yao’s first meeting with Shaquille O'Neal on January 17, 2003, O'Neal said, "Tell Yao Ming, Ching chong-yang-wah-ah-soh", prompting accusations of racism. O'Neal denied that his comments were racist, and said he was only joking. Yao also said he believed O'Neal was joking, but he said a lot of Asians would not see the humor. In the game, Yao scored six points and blocked O'Neal twice in the opening minutes, and made a game-sealing dunk with 10 seconds left in overtime. Yao finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 blocks; O'Neal recorded 31 points, 13 rebounds, and 0 blocks.

The NBA began offering All-Star ballots in three languages—English, Spanish and Chinese—for fan voting of the starters for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game. Yao was voted to start for the West over O'Neal, who was coming off three consecutive NBA Finals MVP Awards. Yao received nearly a quarter million more votes than O'Neal, and he became the first rookie to start in the All-Star Game since Grant Hill in 1995.

Yao finished his rookie season averaging 13.5 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game, and was second in the NBA Rookie of the Year Award voting to Amar'e Stoudemire, and a unanimous pick for the NBA All-Rookie First Team selection. He was also voted the ''Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year, and won the Laureus Newcomer of the Year award.

Before the start of Yao's sophomore season, Rockets' head coach Rudy Tomjanovich resigned due to health issues, and long-time New York Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy was brought in. After Van Gundy began focusing the offense on Yao, Yao averaged career highs in points and rebounds for the season, and had a career-high 41 points and 7 assists in a triple-overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks in February 2004. He was also voted to be the starting center for the Western Conference in the 2004 NBA All-Star Game for the second straight year. Yao finished the season averaging 17.5 points and 9.0 rebounds a game. The Rockets made the playoffs for the first time in Yao's career, claiming the seventh seed in the Western Conference. In the first round, however, the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated Houston in five games. Yao averaged 15.0 points and 7.4 rebounds in his first playoff series.

In the summer of 2004, the Rockets acquired Tracy McGrady from the Orlando Magic in a seven-player trade that also sent Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley to Orlando. Although Yao said that Francis and Mobley had "helped [him] in every way [his] first two seasons", he added, "I'm excited about playing with Tracy McGrady. He can do some amazing things." After the trade, it was predicted that the Rockets would be title contenders. Both McGrady and Yao were voted to start in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game, and Yao broke the record previously held by Michael Jordan for most All-Star votes, with 2,558,278 total votes. The Rockets won 51 games and finished fifth in the West, and made the playoffs for the second consecutive year, where they faced the Dallas Mavericks. The Rockets won the first two games in Dallas, and Yao made 13 of 14 shots in the second game, the best shooting performance in the playoffs in Rockets history. However the Rockets lost four of their last five games and lost Game 7 by 40 points, the largest Game 7 deficit in NBA history. Yao's final averages for the series were 21.4 points on 65% shooting and 7.7 rebounds.

Injury-plagued seasons (2005–2011)

After missing only two games out of 246 in his first three years of NBA play, Yao endured an extended period on the inactive list in his fourth season after developing osteomyelitis in the big toe on his left foot, and surgery was performed on the toe on December 18, 2005. Despite missing 21 games while recovering, Yao again had the most fan votes to start the 2006 NBA All-Star Game.

thumb|left|In his [[2006–07 NBA season|fifth season, Yao averaged a career-high 25 points per game.]]In 25 games after the All-Star break, Yao averaged 25.7 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 53.7% from the field and 87.8% at the free-throw line. His final averages in 57 games were 22.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. It was the first time that he ended the season with a so-called "20/10" average. However, Tracy McGrady played only 47 games in the season, missing time because of back spasms. Yao and McGrady played only 31 games together, and the Rockets did not make the playoffs, winning only 34 games. With only four games left in the season, Yao suffered another injury in a game against the Utah Jazz on April 10, 2006, which left him with a broken bone in his left foot. The injury required six months of rest.

Early into his fifth season, Yao was injured again, this time breaking his right knee on December 23, 2006, while attempting to block a shot. Up to that point he had been averaging 26.8 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, and had been mentioned as an NBA MVP candidate. Yao was unable to play in what would have been his fifth All-Star game; he was medically cleared to play on March 4, 2007, after missing 34 games.

Despite Yao's absence, the Rockets made the playoffs with the home court advantage against the Utah Jazz in the first round. The Rockets won the first two games, but then lost four of five games and were eliminated in Game 7 at home; Yao scored 29 points—15 in the fourth quarter. Although he averaged 25.1 points and 10.3 rebounds for the series, Yao said afterwards "I didn't do my job". At the end of the season, Yao was selected to the All-NBA Second Team for the first time in his career, after being selected to the All-NBA Third Team twice.

On May 18, 2007, only weeks after the Rockets were eliminated from the playoffs, Jeff Van Gundy was dismissed as head coach. Three days later, the Rockets signed former Sacramento Kings coach Rick Adelman, who was thought to focus more on offense than the defensive-minded Van Gundy.

On November 9, 2007, Yao played against fellow Chinese NBA and Milwaukee Bucks player Yi Jianlian for the first time. The game, which the Rockets won 104–88, was broadcast on 19 networks in China, and was watched by over 200 million people in China alone, making it one of the most-watched NBA games in history. In the 2008 NBA All-Star Game, Yao was once again voted to start at center for the Western Conference. Before the All-Star weekend, the Rockets had won eight straight games, and after the break, they took their win streak to 12 games. On February 26, 2008, however, it was reported that Yao would miss the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his left foot. He missed the 2008 NBA Playoffs, but he did not miss the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing, China in August. After Yao's injury, the Rockets stretched their winning streak to 22 games, the second-longest in NBA history. Yao underwent a successful operation on March 3, which placed screws in his foot to strengthen the bone, and recovery time was estimated at four months. Yao's final averages in 55 games were 22.0 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks a game.

The next season, Yao played 77 games, his first full season since the 2004–05 season, and averaged 19.7 points and 9.9 rebounds, while shooting 54.8% from the field, and a career-high 86.6% from the free throw line. Despite McGrady suffering a season-ending injury in February, the Rockets finished with 53 wins and the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Facing the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, Yao finished with 24 points on 9 of 9 shooting in the first game, and the Rockets won 108–81, in Portland. The Rockets won all their games in Houston, and advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997, and the first time in Yao's career.

The Rockets faced the Lakers in the second round, and Yao scored 28 points, with 8 points in the final four minutes, to lead the Rockets to a 100–92 win in Los Angeles. However, the Rockets lost their next two games, and Yao was diagnosed with a sprained ankle after Game 3. A follow-up test revealed a hairline fracture in his left foot, and he was ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs. In reaction, Yao said the injury, which did not require surgery, was "better than last year". However, follow-up analysis has indicated that the injury could be career threatening. The Yao-less Rockets went on to win Game 4 against the Lakers to even the series 2–2. The Rockets eventually lost the series in seven games.

In July 2009, Yao discussed the injury with his doctors, and the Rockets applied for a disabled player exception, an exception to the NBA Salary Cap which grants the injured player's team money to sign a free agent. The Rockets were granted the exception, and used approximately $5.7 million on free agent Trevor Ariza. After weeks of consulting, it was decided that Yao would undergo surgery in order to repair the broken bone in his left foot. He did not play the entire 2009–10 season.

For the 2010–11 season, the Rockets said they would limit Yao to 24 minutes a game, with no plan to play him on back-to-back nights. Their goal was to keep Yao healthy in the long term. On December 16, 2010, it was announced that Yao had developed a stress fracture in his left ankle, related to an older injury, and would miss the rest of the season. In January 2011, he was voted as the Western Conference starting center for the 2011 All-Star Game for the eighth time in nine seasons. Injured All-Stars are usually required to attend the All-Star functions and to be introduced at the game, but Yao was not in Los Angeles because of his rehabilitation schedule after his surgery. Yao's contract with the Rockets expired at the end of the season, and he became a free agent.

Retirement

On July 20, 2011, Yao announced his retirement from basketball in a press conference in Shanghai. He cited injuries to his foot and ankle, including the third fracture to his left foot sustained near the end of 2010. His retirement sparked over 1.2 million comments on the Chinese social-networking site Weibo. Reacting to Yao's retirement, NBA commissioner David Stern said Yao was a "bridge between Chinese and American fans" and that he had "a wonderful mixture of talent, dedication, humanitarian aspirations and a sense of humor." Shaquille O'Neal said Yao "was very agile. He could play inside, he could play outside, and if he didn't have those injuries he could've been up there in the top five centers to ever play the game."

Yao was nominated by a member of the Chinese media for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor to the game. He would have been eligible for induction as early as 2012, but Yao felt it was too soon and requested that the Hall of Fame delay consideration of the nomination. The Hall said it was Yao's decision when the process would be restarted.

International career

2000 and 2004 Olympics

Yao first played for China in the Summer Olympics at the 2000 Olympics Basketball Tournament, and he was dubbed, together with teammates Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer, "The Walking Great Wall". During the 2004 Athens Olympics, Yao carried the Chinese flag during the opening ceremony, which he said was a “long dream come true”. He then vowed to abstain from shaving his beard for half a year unless the Chinese national basketball team made it into the quarter-finals of the 2004 Olympics Basketball Tournament. After Yao scored 39 points in a win against New Zealand, China lost 58–83, 57–82, and 52–89 against Spain, Argentina and Italy respectively. In the final group game, however, a 67–66 win over the reigning 2002 FIBA World Champions Serbia and Montenegro moved them into the quarterfinals. Yao scored 27 points and had 13 rebounds, and he hit two free throws with 28 seconds left that proved to be the winning margin. He averaged 20.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while shooting 55.9% from the field.

Asian Championships

Yao led the Chinese national team to 3 consecutive FIBA Asian Championship gold medals, winning the 2001 FIBA Asian Championship, the 2003 FIBA Asian Championship, and the 2005 FIBA Asian Championship. He was also named the MVP of all three tournaments.

2006 World Championships

Yao’s injury at the end of the 2005–06 NBA season required a full six months of rest, threatening his participation in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. However, he recovered before the start of the tournament, and in the last game of the preliminary round, he had 36 points and 10 rebounds in a win against Slovenia to lead China into the Round of 16. In the first knockout round, however, China was defeated by eventual finalist Greece. Yao's final averages were 25.3 points, the most in the tournament, and 9.0 rebounds a game, which was fourth overall.

2008 Olympics

After having surgery to repair his fractured foot, Yao said that if he could not play in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, "It would be the biggest loss in my career to right now". However, he returned to play with the Chinese national team on July 17, 2008. On August 6, Yao carried the Olympic Flame into Tiananmen Square, as part of the Olympic torch relay. He also carried the Chinese flag and led his country's delegation during the opening ceremony. Yao scored the first basket of the game, a three-pointer, in China's opening game against the eventual gold medal-winning United States.

"I was just really happy to make that shot," Yao said after the Americans’ 101–70 victory. “It was the first score in our Olympic campaign here at home and I’ll always remember it. It represents that we can keep our heads up in the face of really tough odds."

Following an overtime defeat to Spain, Yao scored 30 points in a win over Angola, and 25 points in a three-point win against Germany, which clinched China's place in the quarterfinals. However, China lost to Lithuania in the quarterfinals by 26 points, eliminating them from the tournament. Yao's 19 points a game were the second-highest in the Olympics, and his averages of 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game were third overall.

Career statistics

CBA statistics

!Year	!Team	!GP	!RPG	!APG	!FG%	!FT%	!PPG
		21	8.3	1.3	.615	.485	10.0
	Shanghai	12	12.9	1.7	.585	.699	20.9
	Shanghai	33	14.5	1.7	.585	.683	21.2
	Shanghai	22	19.4	2.2	.679	.799	27.1
	Shanghai	24	19.0	1.9	.721	.759	32.4
		122	15.4	1.8	.651	.723	23.4

NBA statistics

Regular season

|- | align="left"| 2002–03 | align="left"| Houston | 82||72||29.0||.498||.500||.811||8.2||1.7||.4||1.8||13.5 |- | align="left"| 2003–04 | align="left"| Houston | 82||82||32.8||.522||.000||.809||9.0||1.5||.3||1.9||17.5 |- | align="left"| 2004–05 | align="left"| Houston | 80||80||30.6||.552||.000||.783||8.4||.8||.4||2.0||18.3 |- | align="left"| 2005–06 | align="left"| Houston | 57||57||34.2||.519||.000||.853||10.2||1.5||.5||1.6||22.3 |- | align="left"| 2006–07 | align="left"| Houston | 48||48||33.8||.516||.000||.862||9.4||2.0||.3||2.0||25.0 |- | align="left"| 2007–08 | align="left"| Houston | 55||55||37.2||.507||.000||.850||10.8||2.3||.4||2.0||22.0 |- | align="left"| 2008–09 | align="left"| Houston | 77||77||33.6||.548||1.000||.866||9.9||1.8||.4||2.0||19.7 |- | align="left"| 2010–11 | align="left"| Houston | 5||5||18.2||.486||.000||.938||5.4||.8||.0||1.6||10.2 |- | align="left"| Career | align="left"| | 486||476||32.5||.524||.200||.833||9.2||1.6||.4||1.9||19.0 |- | align="left"| All-Star | align="left"| | 5||5||18.2||.529||.000||.667||4.2||1.6||.2||.2||8.0

Playoffs

|- | align="left"| 2003–04 | align="left"| Houston | 5||5||37.0||.456||.000||.765||7.4||1.8||.4||1.4||15.0 |- | align="left"| 2004–05 | align="left"| Houston | 7||7||31.4||.655||.000||.727||7.7||.7||.3||2.7||21.4 |- | align="left"| 2006–07 | align="left"| Houston | 7||7||37.1||.440||.000||.880||10.3||.9||.1||.7||25.1 |- | align="left"| 2008–09 | align="left"| Houston | 9||9||35.9||.545||.000||.902||10.9||1.0||.4||1.1||17.1 |- | align="left"| Career | align="left"| | 28||28||35.3||.519||.000||.833||9.3||1.0||.3||1.5||19.8

Awards and achievements

8× NBA All-Star: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011

5× All-NBA Team:

:* Second Team: 2007, 2009 :* Third Team: 2004, 2006, 2008

NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2003

NBA Rookie All-Star Game: 2004

Gold medal winner with Team China at the 2001, 2003, 2005 FIBA Asian Championship

MVP of the 2001, 2003, 2005 FIBA Asian Championship

All-Tournament Team, FIBA World Championship: 2002

Chinese Basketball Association Champion: 2001–02

Rebounding leader in CBA in 2001–02

2003 ''Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year

2003 ''Laureus Newcomer of the Year''

Off the court

Personal life

Yao is married to Ye Li, a women's basketball player for China. He met her when he was 17 years old. Ye was not fond of Yao at first, but finally accepted him after he gave her the team pins he had collected during the 2000 Summer Olympics. She is the only woman he has ever dated. Their relationship became public when they appeared together during the 2004 Olympics closing ceremony. On August 6, 2007, Yao married Ye in a ceremony attended by close friends and family and closed to the media.

In 2004, Yao co-wrote an autobiography with ESPN sportswriter Ric Bucher, entitled ''Yao: A Life in Two Worlds''. In the same year, he was also the subject of a documentary film, ''The Year of the Yao'', which focuses on his NBA rookie year. The film is narrated by his friend and former interpreter, Colin Pine, who stayed with Yao during Yao's rookie year, and interpreted for him for three years. In 2005, former ''Newsweek'' writer Brook Larmer published a book entitled ''Operation Yao Ming'', in which he said that Yao's parents were convinced to marry each other so that they would produce a dominant athlete, and that during Yao's childhood, he was given special treatment to help him become a great basketball player. In 2009, Yao provided the voice for a character of a Chinese animated film ''The Magic Aster'', released on June 19.

On May 21, 2010, the couple's first child—a daughter named Yao Qinlei, whose English name is Amy—was born in Houston.

Public life

Yao is one of China's most recognizable athletes, along with Liu Xiang. As of 2009, he had led Forbes' Chinese celebrities list in income and popularity for six straight years, earning US$51 million (CN¥357 million) in 2008. A major part of his income comes from his sponsorship deals, as he is under contract with several major companies to endorse their products. He was signed by Nike until the end of his rookie season. When Nike decided not to renew his contract, he signed with Reebok. He also had a deal with Pepsi, and he successfully sued Coca-Cola in 2003 when they used his image on their bottles while promoting the national team. However, he has since signed with Coca-Cola for the 2008 Olympics. His other deals include partnerships with Visa, Apple, Garmin, and McDonald’s.

Yao has also participated in many charity events during his career, including the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program. In the NBA's offseason in 2003, Yao hosted a telethon, which raised 300,000 U.S. dollars to help stop the spread of SARS. In September 2007, he held an auction that raised 965,000 U.S. dollars (6.75 million yuan), and competed in a charity basketball match to raise money for underprivileged children in China. He was joined by fellow NBA stars Steve Nash, Carmelo Anthony, and Baron Davis, and movie star Jackie Chan. After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Yao donated $2 million to relief work, and created a foundation to help rebuild schools destroyed in the earthquake.

On July 16, 2009, Yao bought his former club team, the Shanghai Sharks, which were on the verge of not being able to play the next season of the Chinese Basketball Association due to financial troubles.

See also

References

External links

NBA.com Official Yao Ming player profile

Club Yao – Official Yao Ming fan club

The Yao Ming Foundation official website

Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Category:Centers (basketball) Category:Chinese expatriate basketball people in the United States Category:Houston Rockets draft picks Category:Houston Rockets players Category:Laureus World Sports Awards winners Category:Olympic basketball players of China Category:People from Shanghai Category:Shanghai Sharks players

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Coordinates	55°45′06″N37°37′04″N
name	Mark A. Driscoll
birth date	October 11, 1970
birth place	Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States
nationality	American
occupation	Pastor, Author, Church planter
religion	Christianity
spouse	Grace Driscoll
website	}}

Mark A. Driscoll (born October 11, 1970) is an American pastor and author. He is the co-founder and preaching pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, he co-founded the Acts 29 Network, and has contributed to the "Faith and Values" section of the ''Seattle Times''. He helped start ''The Resurgence'', a repository of missional theology resources.

Biography

Early life

Driscoll was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and was raised Roman Catholic in the Riverton Heights area of Seatac, WA, which is located just south of Seattle, WA. He is a 1989 graduate of Highline High School in Burien, Washington, where he served as student body president and editor of the school newspaper. He earned a Bachelor's degree in communications from Washington State University with a minor in philosophy and holds a Master of Arts degree in exegetical theology from Western Seminary.

The Resurgence

Driscoll founded The Resurgence, a theological cooperative whose partners include Acts 29 Network and Mars Hill Church. It is also associated with Desiring God (a ministry of John Piper), The Gospel Coalition (including Tim Keller and D. A. Carson), Crossway Books and The Hub.

The Resurgence aims to train church leaders in conservative reformed theology and also in the practice of contextualizing the Gospel to different cultures and people groups. It has three main branches: Re:Lit, a publishing house; Re:Train, a missional training centre; and Re:Sound, a music arm.

ABC Nightline Special

In 2009, Driscoll was involved in a debate with Deepak Chopra, Annie Lobert, and Carlton Pearson in an ABC special entitled, ''"Does Satan Exist?"''. He has also been featured on the program discussing other topics including the 10 Commandments and sex.

Haiti relief

In January 2010, following the 7.0-measured earthquake disaster, Driscoll and James MacDonald took a crew to Haiti to provide prayer and relief to Haitian churches through their ministry ChurchesHelpingChurches.com.

Style of sermons

Driscoll's casual, but direct approach style of sermons has resonated in the Pacific Northwest, a region considered the least churched in the nation, according to the North American Religion Atlas. Driscoll's style, he says, is influenced by stand-up comedians like Chris Rock. Driscoll preaches series like ''Vintage Jesus'', ''Religion Saves and Nine Other Misconceptions'', ''The Peasant Princess'', and ''Trial'', focusing on a book of the Bible or topical sermons. Driscoll delivers his sermons with a Systematic Theology approach.

Rob Wall, a professor at Seattle Pacific University, explains the success for the church in Mark Driscoll's direct answers to complicated spiritual questions: "His style of public rhetoric is very authoritative. Whether it's about the Bible, or about culture, he is very clear and definitive." In a Crosscut.com article, his style was described this way: "Pacing the stage at the main Ballard campus, he delivered a sermon on marriage roles as he saw them set forth in the Song of Solomon. He told stories from his own marriage, offered statistics, and dropped jokes without their feeling forced. Every few minutes he would sniff in a thoughtful, practiced sort of way. This untucked, down-to-earth demeanor was the opposite of a huckster televangelist, but polished in its own way. It makes the guy easy to listen to."

Driscoll has been widely inspired by other theologians including Augustine (especially on predestination(?)), John Calvin (especially on city transformation), Martin Luther (especially on the gospel), along with the Puritans, Jonathan Edwards and, Charles Spurgeon. And he finds himself in connection with contemporary theologians including Lesslie Newbigin, Tim Keller, Ed Stetzer, J. I. Packer, Francis Schaeffer, John Stott, Wayne Grudem, Bruce Ware, Don Carson, John Piper, John MacArthur, David Wells and Driscoll's co-writer Gerry Breshears.

Beliefs

Calvinism

Driscoll distinguishes between double and single predestination, and says that unlike John Calvin, he believes only in single predestination.

Driscoll denies the orthodox Calvinist view of Limited Atonement and believes instead that Jesus died for all people in some sense, and for some people (the elect) in another sense. He thinks this position was what John Calvin believed, saying in a humorous tone: 'Calvinism came after Calvin... I will argue that the Calvinists are not very Calvin. I will argue against Calvinism with Calvin... What kind of Calvinist are you? I'm a Calvin, not a Calvinist, that came later'. Driscoll also believes that this position (or slight variations thereof) was held by men like Charles Spurgeon, John Bunyan, Martin Luther, and Richard Baxter.

Driscoll has on several occasions cited Charles Spurgeon as having a major influence on his theology, pastoral ministry and preaching.

Emerging church

His description of his association with, and eventual distancing from the Emerging church movement:

''In the mid-1990s I was part of what is now known as the Emerging Church and spent some time traveling the country to speak on the emerging church in the emerging culture on a team put together by Leadership Network called the Young Leader Network. But, I eventually had to distance myself from the Emergent stream of the network because friends like Brian McLaren and Doug Pagitt began pushing a theological agenda that greatly troubled me. Examples include referring to God as a chick, questioning God's sovereignty over and knowledge of the future, denial of the substitutionary atonement at the cross, a low view of Scripture, and denial of hell which is one hell of a mistake.''

Gender roles

Driscoll holds to a complementarian view of gender roles. He sometimes asks his wife to come up on stage to help him answer questions texted in from the audience, and believes that this does not clash with his understanding that preaching/teaching by women is prohibited by Paul in 1 Timothy 2:12.

When the Evangelical leader Ted Haggard left New Life Church in Colorado, Driscoll raised an uproar with the comment on his blog: "A wife who lets herself go and is not sexually available to her husband in the ways that the Song of Songs is so frank about is not responsible for her husband's sin, but she may not be helping him either." Driscoll later apologized for his statement.

When the Episcopal Church elected a woman as its bishop, Driscoll wrote on his blog, "If Christian males do not man up soon, the Episcopalians may vote a fluffy baby bunny rabbit as their next bishop to lead God's men."

Bibliography

Books

eBooks

See also

Missiology

Missional

New Calvinism

Missional Quotes

References

External links

Mars Hill Church Homepage

Category:Christian writers Category:1970 births Category:Calvinist ministers and theologians Category:Living people Category:Missional Christianity Category:Western Seminary alumni Category:American Calvinists

da:Mark Driscoll ko:마크 드리스콜 pt:Mark Driscoll simple:Mark Driscoll

Rick Moonen is a celebrated seafood chef and an early champion of sustainable fishing practices.

Moonen graduated first in his class from the Culinary Institute of America and then went on to work at New York City’s La Côte Basque, Le Cirque and The Water Club where he commanded the kitchen for six years. He then became executive chef and partner at Oceana before he opened rm in New York, which earned three stars from the New York Times. In 2005 Moonen closed the New York rm in order to open Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood and r bar café at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Moonen is a devoted advocate for sustainable seafood, dedicated to educating about the dangers of overfishing and ocean conservation. He is a founding member of the Chef’s Coalition, Seafood Choices Alliances and an active member of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Seaweb, Share our Strength and a chef’s advisory board member of Ecofish. Moonen has served as a spokesperson for American caviar and has testified several times for environmental and sustainable policy issues in Washington, DC and New York.

He is on the board of advisors for the French Culinary Institute, a member of the corporation for the Culinary Institute of America, a contributing editor to Food & Wine Magazine and is a frequent guest chef at the James Beard House. In 2010, Moonen was a finalist in the second season of Bravo's ''Top Chef Masters''.

Restaurants

Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood

R Bar Café

Awards

1993 Chef of the Year Award for the Northeast Region from Chefs in America.

Top Chef Masters

Top Chef 6: Las Vegas - Guest Judge (''Restaurant Wars'')

References

External links

http://www.rmseafood.com

http://www.rickmoonen.com

Category:Living people Category:American chefs