The Shanghai Sports Bureau announced that Liu Xiang chose to seek employment independently, after which the official Weibo account enabled the comment selection feature, triggering mockery from netizens over the official's inconsistent words and actions.
Liu Xiang posted that he received a 494,000 yuan buyout fee on September 1 and officially bid farewell to the system, and will donate the entire amount of over 980,000 yuan in salary earned over the 11 years since his retirement to the China Charity Federation for disaster relief in Tibet.
Liu Xiang responded to the Shanghai Sports Bureau in the comments section, questioning its claim of "acting in accordance with regulations," and saying "It's been ten years, and suddenly now you want to 'reassign' me," implying that the long-retained status of his personnel relations was tied to commercial interests.
Liu Xiang posted on Weibo asking netizens for help, saying the Shanghai Sports Bureau required him to choose between a "buyout of his years of service" and "becoming a coach," and questioning why the placement issue had been delayed for ten years. The Shanghai Sports Bureau responded that it would arrange proper placement.
On August 26, 2026, Olympic champion Liu Xiang posted on Weibo, publicly questioning the Shanghai Sports Bureau's recent requirement that he choose between transitioning to a coach or having his personnel relationship bought out, and questioning the advertising fee sharing system of that year.
Liu Xiang said that 11 years after retiring, he received a notice from Shanghai's sports authorities requiring him to choose between a one-time buyout of his years of service and leaving the system to seek employment on his own, or returning to work as a coach and clocking in.
On April 7, 2015, Liu Xiang published a long post titled "My Track! My Hurdles" on Weibo, officially announcing his retirement; the Chinese Athletics Association promptly issued a letter of thanks.
After Liu Xiang retired in April 2015, the Shanghai Sports Bureau kept his personnel relations on file for a long time; it was not until September 2026 that he chose to become self-employed, and the procedures were basically completed on September 7.
A video blogger speculated that around the time of Liu Xiang's retirement, Nike and he rearranged a long-term contract covering roughly ten years after his retirement, rather than a lifetime contract in the traditional sense; this claim has not been confirmed by any public report.
On August 7, 2012, in the men's 110 metres hurdles heats at the London Olympics, Liu Xiang fell at the first hurdle. He was diagnosed after the race with a ruptured Achilles tendon and never competed in an official event again.
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Liu Xiang wore bib number 1363 and won the men's 110m hurdles gold medal with a time of 12.91 seconds, claiming Chinese track and field's first Olympic gold in a men's event.