Paid by China, Protected by America
“Eileen Gu should put her money where her mouth is and book a ticket to Beijing”—Guest Opinion by Derek Chen
Guest Opinion by Derek Chen
This month, 232 athletes representing the United States traveled to Milan to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics. Many of these Americans have spent their entire lives working toward one goal: winning a gold medal for their home country.
So, like many other Americans, I was shocked by U.S.-born skier Eileen Gu’s decision to turn her back on her home country and compete under the Chinese Communist Party flag.
I find it offensive and hypocritical that Gu gets to enjoy the rights and privileges of being a U.S. citizen while elevating the regime that denies the Chinese people those same rights every day.
My grandparents fought alongside General Chiang Kai-shek against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Chinese Civil War. They stood against communism and were forced to flee their home country because of it.
After the war, they legally immigrated from Taiwan to the United States because they feared the CCP’s tyranny. When they came to this country, they took advantage of every opportunity this nation provided.
They worked hard, and they chased the American Dream. As a child, I was raised with that same work ethic and a deep sense of gratitude and love for America. This love for America, combined with a real-world understanding of the danger China poses, makes what Eileen Gu did even more insulting to me.
Gu has benefited from everything the United States has to offer, yet she chose to represent China in the Olympic Games. That decision has left many people confused, wondering why she would make that choice.
She obviously does not want to live in China. She lives in the United States and enjoys all the benefits it provides. So, what explains it? The Beijing government sports bureau reportedly budgeted a combined $6.6 million for Gu and another U.S.-born athlete, Zhu Yi, to compete for China in the 2026 Olympics.
A few million dollars? Is that all it takes to ignore the countless human rights violations, murders, censorship, suppression of religion, genocide, and the threat the CCP poses to the United States?
If you do not love our country, then leave. Eileen Gu should put her money where her mouth is and book a ticket to Beijing, but we all know that will not happen anytime soon.
Instead, she will continue reaping the benefits of being an American while waving the flag of one of the world’s most immoral and repressive regimes. Every time Eileen Gu competes for China, her hypocrisy and lack of patriotism will be on full display.
But that is the difference between them and us. In China, an athlete would never be allowed to compete under another nation’s flag. Here, our citizens are free. They are protected by our Constitution, which allows them to choose their own path, even when others may disagree. That is the difference.
Derek Chen is a candidate for Alabama State Auditor in the May 19 Republican primary. For more information on Chen and his campaign, visit https://www.derekforalabama.com or follow him on social media.
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