Marlboro Man

Michael Chang's smoky image abroad

by Bill Wong

Over the past 10 years, Michael Chang has been the rarest of species: a Chinese American athlete of world renown, consistently ranked among the top 10 men's tennis professionals.

His profile in the United States, while considerable, pales in comparison to his fame in Hong Kong, whose population is overwhelmingly ethnic Chinese.

You don't have to show your ethnic card to admire Chang, at least in many aspects of his public persona. He is a fierce and courageous competitor. Although relatively undersized compared with other tennis professionals, he maximizes his skills.

Off the court, he's an exemplar, modest, humble, not force-feeding his devout Christianity. He is enough of a crossover commodity that he endorses a number of products to a mainstream American audience.

In Hong Kong, he is said to contribute handsomely to charities that benefit young people and he has been used to promote healthful living as well as in anti-youth-suicide campaigns.

So why are Serena Chen and Dr. Judith Mackay giving Chang such a bad time?

Chen is director of public affairs of the American Lung Association of Alameda County in Northern California. Dr. Mackay is executive director of the Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control in Hong Kong. They are, in short, opponents of tobacco.

So what does all this have to do with Michael Chang, tennis player extraordinaire and Asian American role model? Contrary to his squeaky-clean image, Chang has been described in the Hong Kong press as "Marlboro's man"--as in one of the leading cigarette brands.

Since the late 1980s, Chang has played in invitational tournaments in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Seoul which were sponsored by major U.S. tobacco companies. This means he and other invitees are paid appearance fees (Chang's is $200,000, a top rate) to compete for a purse that's considerably lower. Although he doesn't smoke, Chang has thanked the sponsors for bringing tennis to emerging Asian cities.

Chang's agent, Tom Ross of Advantage International, said it's unfair to criticize him for playing in tournaments sponsored by tobacco companies. Ross said professional tennis players like Chang are contractually obligated to play in certain tournaments all over the world regardless of sponsorship.

Chen notes that Chang has "rock star status" in Hong Kong, appealing to young Hong Kong Chinese teenage girls. "He's allowing himself to be used by a major drug pusher," Chen added, referring to tobacco companies. "It's irrelevant whether he smokes or not."

Mackay, a Briton who has lived in Hong Kong for 30 years, said, "Michael Chang gets extraordinary publicity when he plays in Hong Kong. I once went to the hotel where he was staying and there were many young girls waiting to catch a glimpse of him or get his autograph. It was as though they were waiting for a movie star."

In 1992, Dr. Mackay wrote a letter to the South China Morning Post that said, "It is impossible to escape the gentle irony behind the article 'Michael Chang serves up an anti-suicide message.' The young tennis star with the 'healthy image' is described as urging young people to lead healthy lifestyles, and is reportedly concerned about youth welfare.

"His message would be more credible and effective if this were not his fifth Marlboro Championship in Hong Kong."

Here's the rub as far as Chen and Dr. Mackay are concerned: Multinational U.S. and British cigarette companies, facing shrinking markets in their countries, have been exporting their deadly products to, among other places, Asia for years. They especially see a vastly underdeveloped market in Asian women. According to Dr. Mackay, only 5 percent of Asian women smoke, compared with 60 percent of Asian men.

It is no coincidence that Marlboro and Salem would want to exploit the appeal Michael Chang has to Hong Kong Chinese girls. If Michael has no problems associating with Marlboro and Salem, these girls might think, then it's cool to light up.

Chen and Dr. Mackay make sense to me. And Chang's plenty rich. He doesn't need tainted tobacco dollars.

Bill Wong is a San Francisco Bay Area-based writer and a regular contributor to AsianWeek.

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