Why do you represent Beijing for the Olympics? Gu Ailing replied

Met Gala, EspnW Summit — Just back from Beijing, Beijing Winter Olympics gold medalist Gu Ailing attended two big events in New York. On the Red carpet at the Met Gala, she walked in a chic, sexy fashion — a strapless black Louis Vuitton leather dress and thick black boots; At the Espn Women’s Sports Summit, she looked fresh in a blue blazer and jeans.

Born in the United States, why did she represent China in the Winter Olympics? According to Reuters, the host first asked Gu this question in an interview arranged for the summit. She replied that while growing up in the United States, she had seen so many amazing female role models, “I grew up watching them,” but not in China.” I can say 100 times, I did it because I wanted to inspire more young girls to play sport. I did it because I wanted to introduce free skiing to kids, and I did it to represent my Chinese heritage and that of my mother, “Gu said. “If people don’t believe it, if they say she’s doing it for something else, then THERE’s nothing I can do about it,” she added.

Gu, who won two gold MEDALS and a silver for Team China at the Beijing Winter Olympics, has received more than just applause and cheers from the Chinese public. Her nationality has also drawn criticism from some who call her an American who has made a ‘patriotic fortune’ in China, while others question the privileges she enjoys in The country. Even before the Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu had at least 23 endorsement brands and sponsors and could earn more than 200 million yuan in 2021. After her outstanding performance in the Winter Olympics, her popularity soared and her endorsement fees soared. However, Gu has always been coy about her nationality. Since China does not recognize dual citizenship, Gu’s answer that “when I am in the United States, I am American, but when I am in China, I am Chinese” captured the imagination. The New York Times asked, “Who can be both Chinese and American like Gu?”

The controversy over her nationality has reduced her popularity in China. When news broke that she would return to the United States to begin her studies at Stanford university, more Chinese Internet users began criticizing her. Some people said, “She returned to the United States to continue to belong to her own wonderful life, for those of us who used to gain national pride in her compatriots, somewhat embarrassing”, “born in the United States, the opportunity to come to Beijing Winter Olympics to earn a wave of popularity and a sum of endorsement money, and then back to the United States to live. Really do not understand the Chinese people and so many fans of her, take a closer look at this is really China’s athletes? It’s an American athlete!”