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Gu Ailing served as ambassador for the US Olympic bid and became a hot search on the Chinese Internet
Eileen Gu, the world champion freestyle skier, will serve as an ambassador for the U.S. bid for the Winter Olympics, sparking heated discussions on the Internet in mainland China regarding the identity of the Chinese-American man — even though the ambassadorial job itself has nothing to do with nationality.
Gu Ailing said on Tuesday (June 7) at the “Time100” summit held by “Time” magazine that she will apply for Salt Lake City in the United States to host the 2030 or 2034 Winter Olympics as an ambassador, and immediately posted on Chinese social media. It became a hot topic on Sina Weibo. Within 48 hours, the related content of the Weibo hashtag “#Gu Ailing will serve as the U.S. Olympic bid ambassador#” had 430 million views.
A spokesman for the Salt Lake City Olympic bid committee told the media on Tuesday that Gu Ailing would cooperate with the committee on the bid, but the specific identity and title were not determined; then some media quoted Fraser Bullock, chairman of the Salt Lake City bid committee, as saying that Gu Ailing Will serve as the global ambassador for the Olympic bid.
The decision was seen by some Chinese netizens as a betrayal of Chinese identity. “It’s definitely an American now,” said a comment on Weibo.
Gu Ailing was born in the United States. Before the Beijing Winter Olympics, she decided to represent China, where her mother was born, and won two golds and one silver in three individual events. Her outstanding performance on the field and huge market potential have made her popular in China rapidly.
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Gu Ailing has always said that she hopes to inspire young women, but avoids nationality disputes
It is not uncommon for the world’s top Chinese athletes to serve as ambassadors for other countries’ Olympic bids. In the past, Chinese diving world champion Gao Min served as an ambassador for New York, and billiard player Ding Junhui was also an ambassador for the London Olympics. In the Winter Olympics, pair skating world champion Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo also served as ambassadors for the Olympic bid for Pyeongchang, South Korea.
However, as soon as the news that Gu Ailing was the US ambassador for the Olympic bid came out, netizens once once more questioned her “what country is she from” and criticized her as a “delicate selfish” person with a swaying identity.
On the other hand, there have been numerous comments supporting her, saying she embodies “the global reach of a top athlete”.
“Our friend’s international influence has been proven once once more,” said one comment, while another said Gu had “raised the sport of freestyle skiing to new heights.”
Gu Ailing said that she “never regrets” representing China at the Winter Olympics, and when announcing her appointment as an ambassador, she described it as a “beautiful example of globalization”, proving that “we can pass skiing, sports – through winter. Movement, to connect people.”
“Every day when I start looking at my social media, I see those private messages, I see hundreds of young girls texting me saying… ‘Because of you, I feel like I’m a better person,'” Gu Ailing “And this has been an incredible opportunity around the world,” he said at the summit on Tuesday.
“Not just in China. In the U.S., in Canada, in Europe. In all these places, freestyle was not seen, now it is, and that’s the most important thing.”
Gu Ailing said that she was “very honored to be a part of all this.”
The lingering identity debate
In the international context of tense Sino-US relations, Gu Ailing’s identity choice has been unable to completely escape the controversy.
China does not legally recognize dual citizenship, but in 2020, China’s Ministry of Justice expanded the rules for foreigners to obtain permanent residency, allowing those with international recognition in sports, science, culture and other fields to qualify. This extension seems to apply to Gu Ailing representing China in international events.
She has never directly responded to the discussion regarding the nationality issue. She only said regarding her identity: “When I was in the United States, I was American, but when I was in China, I was Chinese.”
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Gu Ailing said she “never regrets” representing China at the Winter Olympics
Being an ambassador for the Olympic bid is a voluntary job with no direct pay and no nationality issue, but Chinese netizens still seem fascinated by the news.
There are posts on the Internet that examine the English headlines of relevant reports on the official website of Time magazine, discussing the difference between using “China’s” (Chinese) or “Chinese” (Chinese/Chinese) when describing Gu Ailing.
Chinese state media also barely mentions her nationality, only talking regarding the honors she has won on behalf of China in international competitions.
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Her popularity in China has even caught the attention of top leaders. At the Beijing Winter Olympics Commendation Ceremony hosted by the Chinese government, President Xi Jinping directly mentioned her favorite Chinese snacks to Gu Ailing in the audience.
Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of China’s official tabloid Global Times, commented on Gu Ailing’s appointment as the U.S. ambassador for the Olympic bid, saying that Gu Ailing has not yet denied the definition of identity during the Beijing Winter Olympics, “but extended the definition of the past.”
He said that the Chinese as a whole should be “greater” and encourage Gu Ailing to be a “cultural communicator” between China and the United States, rather than “a symbol of Sino-US confrontation.”
Salt Lake City in the United States is currently one of the bidding cities for the 2030 Winter Olympics. It will compete with Sapporo in Japan and Vancouver in Canada. Spain has also expressed interest in bidding.
The 2028 Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles, the United States. The Olympics do not traditionally authorize a country to host the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics in a row, so Salt Lake City may also bid for the 2034 Winter Olympics instead.
Gu Ailing, 18, will enroll at Stanford University in the United States later this year.
