Ignore Eileen Gu

We should focus on issues that really matter instead.

I have resisted commenting about Eileen Gu. But since too many people have asked, I will share some thoughts in this week’s newsletter.

Even if you haven’t watched any Beijing Winter Olympic Games (I haven’t), you probably have heard of Eileen Gu. The 18-year-old skier won a gold medal in the women’s free ski big air competition at the Winter Olympics this week.

Gu was born and raised in San Francisco by an American father and a mother who emigrated from China. Interestingly, Gu emphasizes her Chinese heritage in her public profile and shares her mom's picture in social media posts. However, she doesn't want to publicly talk about her American father, so he remains a mysterious figure.

Gu is a talented skier who would have easily made it to the U.S. Olympic team as a serious medal contender for her home country. The controversy of Gu lies in which country she regards as home. At age 15, Gu decided (it was probably a joint decision between Gu and her mother, given Gu's age) to represent Communist China for Beijing Winter Olympics. It was disappointing but not an earth-shattering decision because many foreign-born athletes who play in the U.S. regularly return to their home country to join their nation's Olympic teams. These athletes can legally do so because they are not U.S. citizens or their home countries recognize dual citizenship.

But Communist China doesn't recognize dual-citizenship. For Gu to legally represent China, she would have to renounce her U.S. citizenship and become a Chinese citizen. For example, another U.S.-born figure skater, Beverly Zhu, gave up her U.S. citizenship in 2018 to represent China in Beijing Winter Olympics. It was disappointing, but Zhu was at least transparent.

Gu, however, never comes clean about whether she is still a U.S. citizen. She always says she is an American in the U.S. and a Chinese in China whenever asked about her citizenship status. Many people, including myself, suspect that Gu has never given up her U.S. citizenship. The Chinese government likely made an exception and let her keep her American citizenship while competing for China.

Once you understand the Chinese Community Party (CCP) 's motivation, it is easy to see why the party likely has bent its rule for Gu. For the CCP, everything under the sun, including sports, exists to serve its needs. The CCP regards leading the medal-count at an international sporting event like the Olympics as a propaganda victory, which vindicates the wisdom and power of the party. Therefore, the CCP will do anything to make it happen. If it means to let a foreign athlete compete in the Olympics for China, so be it. In a one-party state with no free media, laws are what the party says, and the party can bend the rules at will as long as the change suits their needs.

Suppose Gu is still a U.S. citizen. Why would she want to represent China instead of the United States? Her reason is probably similar to LeBron James’, the NBA’s, and ESPN’s refusing to criticize China and why so many American companies continue to invest in a country with gross human rights violations. It all comes down to money.

Since switching her allegiance to China, Gu has gained a massive following and even had a face-to-face meeting with Chinese leader Xi. Her popularity in China means her brand has tremendous appeal in a country with 1.4 billion people. Not surprisingly, Gu already has an extensive corporate endorsement portfolio from Red Bull to Tiffany. Her endorsement deals are likely to grow after the Olympics.

The money factor explains why Gu chose to compete for China while maintaining her U.S. citizenship and why she doesn't want to come clean with it. Competing for China allows Gu to enrich herself in the world's largest consumer market. Keeping U.S. citizenship enables Gu to freely exit China and return to the land of the free, where she can enjoy the freedom the U.S. offers. Her presence in the U.S. will also appeal to Chinese companies that want to use her to promote Chinese products and brands in the U.S. She may even become an unofficial goodwill ambassador for China, helping the CCP soften its image internationally.

Gu clearly seeks to benefit from both countries. Yet she insists her motive is as innocent and pure as trying to be a unifying figure across cultures. In truth, her shifting allegiance and lack of transparency have only made her a polarizing figure in the United States and a useful idiot for the CCP.

She claims to support the BLM movement in the U.S. Yet when asked about human rights violations and censorship in China, she either altogether avoided answering those questions or responded with typical CCP talking points. (See here and here.)

Gu made the matter worse during her press conference in Beijing this week. She sounded like an arrogant and spoiled brat when she said, "If people don't like me, then that's their loss... They're never going to win the Olympics." She also used the word "uneducated" to dress down her critics. Did she learn it from LeBron James? King James once pronounced that the Houston Rockets general manager who showed support to Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement was "not educated on the situation."

The worst part of Gu’s press conference was when she said, “If other people don’t really believe that that’s where I’m coming from, then that just reflects that they do not have the empathy to empathize with a good heart—perhaps because they don’t share the same kind of morals that I do.” Does she seriously believe she is more empathetic and has a higher moral standard than her critics when she’s the one who chose to represent a country that committed genocide? What kind of moral justifies reeking in money tainted with blood and tears?

Understandably, Gu's decision to represent China and her comments at the press conference caused a firestorm in the U.S., especially on social media. Some called her a “traitor.”

It's fair to criticize her for being an opportunist and hypocrite. But calling her a "traitor" is going too far. It's also unacceptable to doubt of all Chinese-Americans' loyalty to the United States because of Gu. Gu neither speaks for nor represents all of us.

Suppose we have to discuss the Olympics. In addition to discussing China’s human rights violations, let’s celebrate Asian American athletes such as Chloe Kim. She defended the gold medal she won in 2018 in the halfpipe competition. We should also cheer for Nathan Chen, who captured the Olympic gold medal for Team USA in men’s single figure skating? Or how about we bring to attention the environmental cost of the Beijing Olympics? Why are we letting Gu, who doesn’t represent our country, dominate media coverage and our attention?

Let's keep the discussion of Gu in perspective. Gu is a teenage athlete, and she made what many of us would consider a bad choice. But is her choice that much different from what LeBron James and many large American corporations have done? In the grand scheme of great power competition between the United States and China, I'm more concerned about the latest report, which reveals how U.S. companies like Intel and Microsoft undermine U.S. national security by actively working with the Chinese government and Chinese companies with military affiliations. I couldn’t care less of what a teenage skier is doing or saying.

Excessive focus and criticism of Gu not only draw our attention away from more important topics we should be concerned about but also play into the CCP propagandists' hands. Nothing delights them more than using one of our own against us, feasting on Americans’ anger and frustration while claiming systematic racism in the United States.

One last word about Gu. For someone who lives off corporate endorsement, all publicities, including the bad ones, keeps her in the spotlight, which is likely to increase her brand's value. Don’t let her profit from your frustration.

I hope that no one will ask me again comment about her. The best strategy for all of us is to ignore her and focus on issues that really matter.

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A must-read Op-ed in the Federalist

A new report reveals how U.S. companies’ Faustian bargain with the Chinese Communist Party has endangered all of us.