Free Republic

Eileen Gu, the American-born skier who won a gold medal for her mother’s homeland China, reportedly raked in tens of million dollars in Chinese endorsement deals — even before her considerable success at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. The site Insider cited a report from CBN Data, a Shanghai-based research firm, as saying Gu brought in 200 million Yuan (or over $31 million) in 2021 — before her gold medal run. Yicai Global, an outlet in Shanghai, counted 23 endorsement deals for Gu heading into the Olympics, including Estee Lauder cosmetics, Cadillac, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany. According to various outlets,...

On Feb. 8, gold medalist Eileen Gu posted on Instagram to announce her win at the Beijing Winter Olympics. As social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are banned in China, many Chinese have questioned why she, but not the general public, could use Instagram in mainland China. “Anyone can download a VPN its literally free on the App store,” Gu replied, according to a screenshot of her now-deleted post. Gu, who was born in San Francisco and raised by a single mother, has made headlines for her decision to compete for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) despite...

In the span of a week, three American-born athletes of Chinese descent have been thrust into the spotlight at the Beijing Winter Olympics -- to very different reactions in China. All three were trained in the United States and are only a few years apart in age, but their paths diverged on the way to the Games: freestyle skier Eileen Gu and figure skater Zhu Yi chose to compete for China, while Nathan Chen, another figure skater, opted for Team USA. The young athletes have found themselves embroiled in deteriorating US-China relations, during one of the most divisive, tightly controlled...

Gu’s Instagram page is a collection of motivational and inspirational slogans, a scrapbook designed to present a specific, curated image of her to the world. One user commented on an otherwise innocuous post: “Why can you use Instagram and millions of Chinese people from mainland cannot, why you got such special treatment as a Chinese citizen. That’s not fair, can you speak up for those millions of Chinese who don’t have internet freedom,” user “cilla chan” wrote. “Anyone can download a vpn,” Gu replied, “it’s literally free on the App Store”. The website Protocol noted that multiple users fired back...

Who would have thought that, just mere days later, a beautiful gold medal–winning 18-year-old elite Olympian would exhibit the exact disdain and arrogance highlighted in the article? Eileen Gu was born in California to a Chinese mother and an American father. While domiciled, educated, and trained in the United States, Gu visited China annually to visit her mother's family who resided there. In 2019, Gu suddenly decided to represent China instead of the United States. When pressed, Gu loftily explained that it was not fame and riches that inspired her switched allegiance, but that she wanted to use sports as...

The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing is meant to showcase world-class athletes. Instead, the world is getting a sickening glimpse into the inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party and its efforts to paper over whatever reflects poorly on the regime. It’s difficult for China to hide its sins while under the white-hot spotlight brought on by the games, and that includes the mysterious recent disappearance and reappearance of the three-time Olympic Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. On Nov. 2, Peng used a social media post to accuse vice-premier of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhang Gaoli, of forcing her to...

Even though Californian skier Eileen Gu turned her back on Team USA to instead represent China at the 2022 Winter Olympics and promote the games worldwide, iconic American brands such as Tiffany’s and Cadillac continue to sponsor her. Originally from San Francisco, the 18-year-old spent most of her childhood there and attended high school there. Additionally, she has been accepted to Stanford University. Her mother Yan is reportedly a first-generation Chinese immigrant, while her father is reputedly American, but he has never been named publicly.For most of her freestyle skiing career, Gu competed as an American. However, she will attend...