Thaindian News

By Gina Gomez
Mar 6, (THAINDIAN NEWS) With Houston Rockets player Yao Ming and his wife gearing up to welcome their first child in the month of July, the Chinese fans of the basketball star have expressed concern about the citizenship of the unborn baby. According to reports, the apprehension of the fans in the player’s homeland China was fueled after Yao Ming moved back to the United States with his wife Ye Li.

Although for most of the Americans the citizenship of the Houston Rockets player’s child is hardly an issue, the same is not true for the Chinese fans who are fearing that if the baby takes birth in United States, the child would automatically gain American citizenship. However, as the parents of the yet-to-be born child both have Chinese citizenship, the baby can easily become a Chinese national but the problem persists as China does not allow dual citizenship. Meanwhile, the player has reacted to the buzz that his unborn child has created by stating that it was a personal matter between him and his wife. The concern for his fans in China does not come as a surprise given the fact that Yao Ming is considered to be a basketball superstar in his home country by the fans, who surely do not want to miss the opportunity of having a future basketball star.

Although few fans have reiterated that if Yao Ming chooses United States as the birthplace of his unborn child it would be a ‘betrayal’ to his home country, others have brushed away the controversy stating that the player has full right to choose where his child would be born.