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The Manchurian Athlete: The “American” Olympic Skier Who Is Representing China

Communist FlagBy Selwyn Duke

Perhaps the biggest story to come out of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games thus far is that of Eileen Gu, the “American” skier who has decided to compete for China.

Of course, American is in quotation marks because it’s perhaps more accurate to say that, in spirit, Gu is not so much an American skier as a skier born in America, or at least in San Francisco. The 18-year-old is certainly noncommittal herself, having told Red Bull’s Bulletin recently, “When I’m in America, I’m American. When I’m in China, I’m Chinese.” Apparently, Gu, whose father is American and mother a Chinese immigrant, identifies as nationality fluid.

But since not everyone believes (not yet, anyway) the internationalist fancy that nationality is a spectrum, Wu’s decision has evoked some expected criticism, with many calling her a traitor.

Yet Beijing doesn’t call Gu — who goes by “Gu Ailing” in China — anything but an opportunity.

Read the rest here.

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2 responses to “The Manchurian Athlete: The “American” Olympic Skier Who Is Representing China”

  1. TJ Avatar
    TJ

    I commend Gu for her honesty. We have tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people who are considered citizens who aren’t loyal to our form of government. Not being brave enough to find a country more to their liking many of them actively seek to subvert our constitution. There is a real problem in this country with citizens who essentially reject our political system usually insisting it is quite malleable. This attitude is common among “economic” immigrants who often prefer authoritarian governments. I really don’t understand why Selwyn would complain about Gu’s migration anyway since many a 14 yo American boy already out skis her.

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  2. Joe Ureneck Avatar
    Joe Ureneck

    If Gu renounced her US citizenship she would be ‘honest’. A Japanese American did that to represent Japan a few years back, putting her money, so to speak, where her mouth was.

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