New NBA sensation Jeremy Lin has sparked a war of words between

New NBA sensation Jeremy Lin has sparked a war of words between Taiwan and China as the rivals seek to lay claim to being the New York Knicks player’s true ancestral homeland.

US-born Lin, whose parents are Taiwanese immigrants, has been hailed as “the glory of Taiwan” and inspired a feverish following on the island after coming off the bench and powering the Knicks to a stunning run of triumphs this month.

His fans in Taiwan range from President Ma Ying-jeou to teenagers rushing to get a Lin haircut. The Taiwan sports lottery has seen brisk sales as buyers place record bets on matches featuring him.

“It’s humbling, a privilege, and an honour. I’m really proud of being Chinese, I’m really proud of my parents being from Taiwan,” Lin said in a recent interview.

But there are also many across the Taiwan Strait who want to claim Lin as their own. His maternal grandmother is from the mainland, and there are even outlandish calls for him to represent China in the upcoming Olympics.

“Lin is virtually a household name in China, like Yao Ming, and there is wave after wave of calls for him to join the Chinese basketball team in the London Olympics,” said the state news agency Xinhua.

Yao, China’s first global sporting icon, joined the Houston Rockets in 2002 as the first player from outside the United States to be selected as the top NBA draft choice.

Xinhua, which said Lin’s ancestors hail from the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, noted that he would have to renounce his US citizenship in order to play for China.

Lin’s family in Taiwan, however, beg to differ.

“He is Taiwanese, a true Taiwanese and some remarks (that he is not) are wrong,” Lin’s paternal grandmother Lin Chu A-muen told reporters in Taiwan.

Taiwan, which is officially recognised by only 23 countries, has struggled to emerge from the shadow of its giant neighbor China ever since their split in 1949 after a civil war.

He’s OURS!!!

Source AFP