The NBA basketball player Yao Ming was named a national "model worker" by the government on Wednesday, the Shanghai Municipal Federation of Trade Unions told Xinhua News Agency.

"The reason we nominated Yao is that he reflects the modern image of China while being patriotic in the international sports arena," a federation official said.

Upon hearing the news, the 24-year-old Houston Rockets center said via his manager Zhang Chi, "I take it as one more honor and encouragement from my country."

"I used to think 'model workers' were ordinary hardworking people who left their pay out of account, but now, as well as them, special 'migrant workers' like me can also receive the award," said Yao.

"Model worker" is a title that since 1950 has generally been reserved for the likes of bus conductors, plumbers, miners and other frontline employees.

This time, along with Yao, private business people and migrant workers from rural areas are among those receiving the honor.

Not everyone supported Yao's nomination, saying that 'model workers' should be selected from ordinary people, not rich superstars.

His supporters, however, said he is not only a basketball player, but an ambassador representing a brilliant, diligent and more confident China to the rest of the world.

"We can detect subtle social changes behind the fact that people from increasingly diverse walks of life are honored," said Professor Li Qiang, a sociologist at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

In the late 1970s, the nomination of intellectuals and businesspeople running state companies reflected a huge shift in perception of what made someone a "model worker."

(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2005)