Three words spark pile-on of China’s Olympic golden girl

Eileen Gu is the face of China’s Winter Olympics — but not even her spectacular gold medal can cover up the dark truth exposed in Beijing.

Eileen Gu is the face of the Games. Photo: Getty Images/Instagram.

Eileen Gu is the face of these Winter Olympics in Beijing but while the world is in awe of the teenager’s undeniable talent, her high-profile role in China’s propaganda war is cause for concern.

The 18-year-old freestyle skier — who won gold in the inaugural women’s freeski Big Air event on Tuesday and is tipped to take home two more medals — sparked controversy when she chose to represent China despite being born and raised in the US.

Gu said “the opportunity to help inspire millions of young people where my mum was born ... is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help promote the sport I love”, causing many to question the motives behind her switch in allegiances.

Gu won gold this week in front of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, which is where another layer of complexity to the teen’s defection comes into play. There have been concerns for Peng’s wellbeing ever since she accused a top Chinese politician of sexually assaulting her in a social media post in November.

The post was deleted from Weibo and even though the two-time grand slam doubles champion has made public appearances and comments since then, most recently in an interview with L’Equipe this week where she announced she has no intention of returning to tennis, many believe Peng is being coerced and unable to act of her own free will.

Peng was in the crowd to watch Gu strut her stuff and after the incredible performance that secured her top spot on the podium, the skier said: “I’m grateful that she (Peng) is happy and healthy and doing her thing again.”

Eileen Gu is an Olympic superstar but has faced her fair share of criticism. Picture: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Peng Shuai was on hand to watch Eileen Gu win gold. Picture: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

But those comments — and in particular, the three words “doing her thing” — put Gu in the firing line for failing to acknowledge the seriousness of Peng’s situation. Even after Peng’s interview with L’Equipe where she claimed she was fine and denied accusing anyone of sexual assault, the governing body of women’s tennis, the WTA, said it was still concerned for her.

Gu may only be 18 but she is supremely intelligent, recording a nearly-perfect SAT score of 1580 and being accepted into the prestigious Stanford University. It’s why commentators believe she should have shown more awareness of the scenario she has plonked herself in the middle of.

Writer Melissa Chan tweeted: “Chinese Olympian Eileen Gu says she’s happy Peng Shuai is ‘out there doing her thing again’. Except Peng literally announced the opposite: her retirement — and did so likely under duress. Gu has sought to avoid politics, but her comments align with Beijing’s.

“Eileen Gu is an amazing athlete who won gold with that amazing left double 1620. She also towed the Party line on Peng Shuai. In many ways we should not expect such young athletes to comment on human rights. But an 18-year-old knows what a rape accusation is and Gu gaslit Peng.

“A lot of Olympic athletes switch country representation. This happens. The reason why Eileen Gu is getting so much attention is because she decided to rep a country where we’ve had a steady stream of Uyghurs the last few years escape and talk about the horrors of detention camps.”

Oliver Brown, chief sports writer for UK publication The Telegraph, said Peng’s appearance at the skiing showed “she has been shamelessly paraded in Beijing as a prop”.

“You might reasonably imagine this is a subject on which the highly-educated Gu should hold strong views ... Except Gu’s alliance with China prevents her from offering the mildest criticism,” Brown wrote.

“Peng is not just ‘doing her thing’. For 48 hours, she has been used as a human crutch for (IOC president Thomas) Bach and the Chinese autocracy he is enabling.

“Perhaps this is not Gu’s problem, but the fact that she is incapable of expressing any concern is troubling. It demonstrates the impossible circle she is seeking to square: being the darling of US fashion magazines one minute, and a symbol of Chinese patriotism the next.

“For Gu to imagine that in this climate, she can be a supranational butterfly, balancing vastly different cultural expectations and attitudes to free speech, is at best naive, at worst downright cynical.”

Gu is one of the biggest stars competing in Beijing. Picture: Manan VATSYAYANA / AFP

Reporter Bang Xiao said on social media Gu echoed “Beijing’s propaganda” with her answers about Peng while Canadian journalist Bruce Arthur highlighted the difficult position Gu has put herself in by siding with China.

“Eileen Gu just absolutely sidestepped a question on what she thought of the Peng situation; she said she was glad to see Peng ‘happy and healthy and doing her thing’. Impossible question for her, and strikes at the heart of the contrast here,” Arthur tweeted.

“She also dodges questions about whether she has given up her US citizenship. Gu is an incredible athlete, so confident, so positive, but I am not sure I have ever seen an athlete that feels so relentlessly like a marketing opportunity.”

Journalist David Josef Volodzko added: “Eileen Gu is glad Peng Shuai is in the stands ‘doing her thing again’. Except that’s not her thing. Peng has played every Australian Open for 15 years except 2016 due to injury. The AO ended last week and Peng was MIA. She’ll be ‘doing her thing’ when she’s back on the court.”

Gu’s approach in China is in stark contrast to the one many athletes would like to follow as they compete in a country that has been slammed over its human rights record. The Chinese government warned athletes against protesting during the Olympics, saying they could be punished for doing anything that goes “against the Olympic spirit, especially against Chinese laws and regulations”.

Some Western nations have also warned about surveillance of their athletes and what will happen to them if they make anti-China comments or other displays of protest against local authorities.

American snowboarder Jamie Anderson spoke of her frustration before the start of the Games, saying: “We can’t speak out about anything important, which is really BS.”

Gus Kenworthy, a British freestyle skier, said he would not be silenced and called China “not well suited” to be hosts.

“In my opinion I don’t think any country should be allowed to host the Games if they have appalling human rights stances,” he told the BBC.

It looks pretty, but there’s a dark undercurrent to the Beijing Games. (Photo by Li Xin / POOL / AFP)

Gu, who has a stack of endorsement deals linked to iconic brands like Victoria’s Secret and has graced the cover of Vogue, declined to address questions surrounding her American citizenship on Tuesday, given China does not allow its citizens to carry dual citizenship.

“I definitely feel as though I’m just as American as I am Chinese,” she said. “I’m American when I’m in the US and Chinese when I’m in China. Both continue to be supportive of me because they understand my mission is to use sport as a force for unity.”

With AFP