Tag: Eileen Gu

Nathan Chen: An American Hero Despised by China

Commentary Who is the real China? Eileen Gu or the chained woman? These questions were recently asked by Li Yuan, a New York Times columnist. The answer is both. China is a country where millions of people live in abject poverty and are subjected to the most vilest of abuses. It’s also a country where,…


Olympian Eileen Gu Cashing In on Competing for China

Reports find U.S.-born skier Eileen Gu is cashing in on her fame in China. Following her victory in Beijing, she’s expected to secure dozens more sponsorships and endorsements from Chinese companies. But experts warn of risks. More than half of China’s Olympic hockey players are originally from somewhere else. But some are questioning why the…


Is Olympic Star Eileen Gu Guilty of Betraying America?

Commentary For decades, athletes from around the world have desperately attempted to use the Olympics as an opportunity to defect from their countries of birth. For example, at the Tokyo Olympics last year, weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko, a Ugandan national, used the event to try to escape his country of birth. According to Opportunity International, 41 percent of Ugandan people…


US-Born Freestyle Skier Eileen Gu Is Now China’s Most Popular Media Star

American-born skiing prodigy Eileen Gu skyrocketed to huge fame after she won a gold medal for China on Feb. 8 in the women’s freeski big air event at the Beijing Winter Olympics The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) top sports body sent a letter to her and her teammates on the same day, congratulating them for…


Why Are America’s Athletes Defecting to China? Red China’s Hidden Olympic Agenda

For this special two-part edition of The Wide Angle, I’m joined by China economics professor Antonio Graceffo—a graduate of the Shanghai University of Sport. I garner his insights into two pivotal U.S.-China issues: American-born athletes starring on the China Olympic team; and China’s startling high-volume investment in U.S. biopharm and genomics companies. While seemingly unrelated,…


Behind the Outrage Over Eileen Gu and China’s Treatment of Women; Uyghur Torchbearer Speaks Out on China

Eileen Gu is in hot water. Her choice to compete for Team China is sparking outrage, a reflection of a deeper societal problem in China—all this through the perspective of four Chinese women. We take a deeper look at how the Chinese Communist Party is behind all of it, and we take a look at…


Olympic Failure and the Cost of Representing China

Commentary In the immortal words of Swedish pop group ABBA, “the winner takes it all.” The loser, however, “has to fall.” In China, as we will see, any “loser” unlucky enough to fall is mercilessly ridiculed. Instead of being offered assistance, support, and a helping hand, they are bullied and chastised, mocked, and maligned. This,…


China Bets on US-Born Players to Win Gold at Beijing Olympics

Bay Area-born freestyle skier Eileen Gu crashed the Chinese internet after winning gold for China on her debut at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the first of three she hopes to claim on behalf of her mother’s home country. “The future is bright” for Gu and her teammates, read a Feb. 8 letter from China’s Winter…


China Recruits US-Born Athletes to Boost Beijing’s Olympic Gold Medal Drive

Bay Area-born freestyle skier Eileen Gu crashed the Chinese internet after winning gold for China on her debut at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the first of three she hopes to claim on behalf of her mother’s home country. “The future is bright” for Gu and her teammates, read a Feb. 8 letter from China’s Winter…