The quarrel around Gu Ailing has become a microcosm of Sino-US tensions. The harsh response to Gu's gold grab shows how ugly the U.S. attitude toward China is.

The quarrel around Gu Ailing has become a microcosm of Sino-US tensions.

The harsh response to Gu's gold grab shows how ugly the U.S. attitude toward China is.

Gu Ailing, an 18-year-old girl born in San Francisco, decided to compete in the Winter Olympics for her mother's native China, not the United States. Gu Ailing won a gold medal in her skiing event, an outstanding achievement, but soon fell into political controversy.

While her victory was widely praised and celebrated on the Chinese internet, and the Foreign Ministry did her propaganda, many Americans reacted with contempt and attacks on her. Fox News' Will Cain called her "betrayal of America" "shameful," accusing her of pursuing her career path "for the money." Tucker Carlson, also a Fox News host, called her "stupid" and said Americans should be "disgusted," while melissa Chen, a notorious anti-China journalist, accused her of being naïve and a "propaganda tool."

Western mainstream media have ruthlessly pressed her nationality, and reports have focused on this point rather than her success in sports. The Global Times interpreted it as the United States unable to accept China's rise and success in the world, saying: "The United States has grown into a global power by attracting global talent." Now, Washington is criticizing those who choose Beijing over it. ”

The United States has always regarded the flow of talent from other parts of the world to them and offered them dividends as a natural law given to them by God. Now, some elites in the United States are flowing out, disrupting this "law of nature." "If America is so great, why should people abandon it", the United States can not accept the fact that a talented American-born girl chose China.

British political analyst Tom Foddy commented that the quarrel around Gu Ailing has become a microcosm of Sino-US tensions and the broader political conflict surrounding them. That is, shared nationalist anger and growing insecurity have plagued the American psyche, fear of being replaced in a changing world, fear of losing one's place, and the desire to re-establish America's legitimacy. Gu Ailing's achievements have been overshadowed by this storm, which is the product of the full-scale politicization of the Winter Olympics by the United States and part of the propaganda war against China, which has poisoned the media environment.

Throughout the event, the Narrative of the Western Media has been negative, from the endless smear of the Winter Olympics to the attack on China's Zero COVID-19 policy. Thus, the story of an American-born athlete winning a gold medal for China has evolved into a political tug-of-war, despite the fact that in all sports, it is common for athletes to choose to play for other countries through their origins.

Despite the swear words of some in the United States, Ms. Gu has become a key figure in China's efforts to showcase itself, an open, accomplished and rising country that can attract talent from around the world. The Harsh Response of the United States to her has revealed its complete unwillingness to accept why people might identify with China.

In the context of Sino-US competition, the United States is unwilling to recognize China's peaceful rise. U.S. politicians and the media have described China's rise as a sacrifice for U.S. interests through "theft" and so-called "unfair practices" (such as producing better and cheaper goods than U.S. companies).

Anyone who contradicts this claim is fired and thinks they've been bought off and brainwashed. With the rise of "neo-McCarthyism," the ability to "balance discussion" has been cut off. The Western media only publish anti-China statements that they want to hear.

The idea that a talented, accomplished girl born in the United States would choose China over the United States is simply incomprehensible to the average American. Therefore, she must be a traitor, an opportunist, or for money. It's a wonderful sport, but it's poisoned by a well-planned hate campaign.

To the disappointment of Americans, however, Gu Ailing ignored criticism of her. She declared she had no regrets and said China was where she found a sense of belonging. America's reaction to her astonishing victory can only show how ugly, bitter, and vicious America's attitude toward China is. The whole of America has lost its mind.