On April 18, Stephon Marbury, former NBA superstar, received a Chinese "green card," foreigner's permanent residence permit from the Chinese government, who becomes the first foreign basketball player owning a Chinese "green card" in the history of CBA (the Chinese Basketball Association).
Since the founding of PRC, China issues thousands of Foreigner's Permanent Residence Cards annually only to foreigners who have done outstanding contributions to the country, such a strict quota, according to Beijing Morning Post.
"I'm so thankful and blessed to receive my green card today from the Beijing Government. It's a true honor to be a part of the capital of China. I hope I can not only help win more championships but continue to bring positive energy and love." He wrote on his microblog.
Stephon started to apply for the card in 2014 in hopes of settling down in Beijing. He went to the local exit-entry administration bureau to apply for it on April 17, 2015. Now he can say, "China is my home."
This former N.B.A. point guard came to China and became a player of CBA, who has led the Beijing Ducks to three CBA championships, favored by fans.
He had been honored with a bronze statue, funded by Chinese fans after the first champion. In 2014, the player was awarded "honorary citizenship" and received a golden city key from Wang Anshun, the mayor of Beijing. As his legend in Beijing continued, a specialized series of postage stamps for him were released by Beijing Post.
He is also a Christian.He talks a lot about his Christian life in China and often shares love on the microblog with the famous saying "Love is Love".
This January he shared on the social platform: "Peace and Love! Once you know love you know the truth in how to treat others. Love is the most powerful tool to use as a human. It can fix anything!!"
And he thanked God for everything He gave in an interview after leading the team to get the first champion.
