On February 8, Gu Ailing, an American-born Chinese girl, won the gold medal in the freestyle ski women's big jump at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, adding another joy to the Chinese New Year atmosphere, and information about her quickly dominated the screen. People praised her and sent her blessings. But the United States on the other side of the ocean was sour, and the reaction to her was very strong, and the most harsh was to accuse her of "shamefully betraying" the United States.
Chinese audiences and Americans' attitudes toward Gu Ailing may be subjective, and let's listen to an objective voice, that is, the British writer and political and international relations analyst Tom Fowdy's analysis of this phenomenon.
Foday argues that Gu Ailing participated in the Winter Olympics and won the gold medal on behalf of her mother's native China rather than her birthplace, further angering a country that feels insecure because of China's development, but the response was "toxic."
Gu Ailing is undoubtedly a talented girl, and her achievements should have been congratulated, after all, it was a purely sports game, but she was unexpectedly caught in a political controversy. Her victory was widely praised and celebrated in china's internet scene, but many Americans reacted with contempt and attacked her.
As early as February 2, local time in the United States, Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Will Cain in the Evening "Tucker Carlson Tonight Show" show repeatedly viciously attacked Gu Ailing, calling her "betrayed the United States", she was "shameful", and accused her of pursuing her career path "for money", Gu Ailing's decision was "stupid", and said that Americans should feel "disgusted". Melissa Chan, a notorious anti-China journalist and Chinese-American, accused her of being naïve and naïve, a "propaganda tool."
Mainstream media in the United States have focused relentlessly on her nationality, with reports focused on that rather than her success in sports. This shows that the United States cannot accept China's rise and success in the world. The United States, which has become a global power by attracting talent from all over the world, is now criticizing those who choose China, which also demonstrates the snobbery of the American elite.
The controversy over Ms. Gu has become a microcosm of U.S.-China tensions and broader political conflict. Growing insecurity as a result of China's development has plagued the Psyche of Americans, fears of losing their place in a changing world, and the end of unipolarization. In the United States, Gu's achievements were overshadowed by the storm, and in fact, before that, the United States had made the Winter Olympics part of its propaganda war against China and politicized it across the board, which had poisoned the media environment.
Throughout the process, political propaganda against China has been ruthlessly negative, from accusations against athletes, to the so-called Xinjiang issue, to attacks on China's policies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and so on, this politicized propaganda seeks to deprive any legitimate or positive view of China. Thus, the story of an American-born athlete winning a gold medal for China evolved into a political tug-of-war. However, in all sports, it is very common for athletes to choose the country they play for by their own pedigree.
Although some people in the United States have loudly criticized, Gu Ailing has become a key figure in China's efforts to show itself, as an open, accomplished, and rising country, China can attract talents from all over the world, and the harsh and mean reaction to Gu Ailing exposes the United States' complete unwillingness to accept people's legitimate identification with China. The United States has concocted a binary narrative that portrays everything as an evil conspiracy orchestrated by the Communist Party, but this does not truly represent the will of the Chinese people, which is just a Western "Enlightenment" hypothesis.
With this assumption in mind, U.S. politicians and the media effectively treat all Chinese as spies, thieves, and propagandists, while China's rise has been portrayed as sacrificing U.S. interests through "theft" and so-called "unfair practices, such as producing better and cheaper products than U.S. businesses).
Anyone who contradicts this claim is dismissed as having been paid, or brainwashed, or complicit with the Communist Party. In the new wave of McCarthyism, the ability to balance discussion has been lost.
The idea that a talented, high-achieving American-born girl chooses China over the United States is simply incomprehensible to the average American. Therefore, she must be a traitor, an opportunist, or for money. It is a pity that a wonderful sport has been poisoned by a well-planned hate campaign.
To the dismay of the United States, however, Gu Ailing was dismissive of criticism of her. She claimed she had no regrets and said China had made her feel a sense of belonging. Who among us is qualified to judge this? Who among us is entitled to express our hatred for her? Gu Ailing decided to compete for China in 2019, and she will have an incredible future ahead of her.
The reaction of the United States to her astonishing victory can only show how ugly, painful, and malicious the attitude of the United States toward China has become, which is the collective loss of reason of the whole country.