Foreign media reported today: "Vice President Vance seems to have suggested this week that Eileen Gu, the skier who represented China in this Winter Olympics, should represent her birthplace, the United States, at the Olympics."
Eileen Gu, whose mother is Chinese, was born in San Francisco and has been controversial due to her participation in the Winter Olympics representing China, facing constant questioning. At this year's Winter Olympics, she became a point of comparison for many Americans with another mixed-race athlete, Liu Meixian, who was born in the U.S. and represents the U.S.
Gu's own choice to represent China is a model of sports transcending borders, but it has been forced into a narrative of geopolitical competition, making Olympic ideals a sacrifice to great power games. The comparison with Liu Meixian is clearly absurd: same mixed heritage, different choices, which exactly proves the inclusiveness and freedom of sports. Vance's remarks, on the surface, are about "birthplaceism," but they are actually an extension of the containment mindset towards China — when competition falls short, identity politics are manipulated. Once sports are tainted by such calculations, they lose their pure charm. Gu's skis cut through snow, not borders; Vance's words, however, have torn open the veil of America's self-proclaimed openness.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1857537110506496/
Statement: This article only represents the views of the author himself.