Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley slammed American-born skier Eileen Gu for choosing to represent China instead of the U.S., saying that ‘you’re standing for freedom or you’re standing for human right abuses.’
The 50-year-old former South Carolina governor added that there ‘is no in between’ when it comes to choosing certain countries. Her comments were made during an interview with Real Clear Politics on Tuesday.
Gu, 18, is a U.S.-born Olympic skier who is currently a member of China’s 2022 Winter Olympics team in Beijing. She was eligible to represent both countries but chose her mother’s homeland.
Her father is American but Gu was raised by her Chinese mother and grandmother, speaking Mandarin much of the time while growing up.
‘In terms of the citizenship, look, China or the U.S.? You have got to pick a side. Period,’ Haley told the political news website.
‘You’ve got to pick a side because you’re either American or you’re Chinese, and they are two very different countries. … Every athlete needs to know when they put their flag on, you’re standing for freedom or you’re standing for human rights abuses. There is no in-between.’
Gu, who was born and raised in San Francisco, has faced backlash from U.S. media outlets for siding with China in the games amid the country’s horrific treatment of the Chinese Uyghurs – a Muslim minority in Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in the northwestern part of the country.
Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Olympic athletes must choose to represent ‘freedom’ or ‘human rights abuses’
Gold medalist Eileen Gu of China has been told by Haley that there is ‘no in between’ when it comes to either representing the U.S. or China. Gu has repeatedly told outlets that she feels Chinese just as much as she feels American although she’s been born and raised in California
Gu is pictured with her Chinese mother, Yan. She was born in San Francisco and grew up there. Her father, reportedly American, has never been named publicly
Detainees listening to speeches in a camp in Lop County, Xinjiang, China – the northwestern province of Chinese with a Muslim majority. China has been accused of leading a genocide in the region due to its cultural and religious differences
Haley referred to the human rights abuses that Uyghurs continuously face, saying she is still having a hard time of those who are imprisoned due to their difference in religion.
‘I can’t get the images out of my head of people on their knees blindfolded, knowing what’s about to happen to them,’ Haley said. ‘I can’t imagine in any way supporting that or propping up China.’
Haley, who was a member of the 2016 Trump administration, said it is her ‘hope and prayer’ that Americans understand ‘that China is the one that gave us COVID.’
‘China is the one stealing intellectual property. China is the one committing human rights abuses,’ she added. ‘And China is the one that has become a surveillance state that is now going to start dictating to our American companies, which is why they’ve started to leave.’
‘At some point, we need to understand it is time to move on from China,’ she concluded.
Gu, who has won a gold in the women’s freestyle and a silver medal in the women’s slopestyle, has constantly avoided questions about her citizenship and whether she had renounced her U.S. citizenship to compete for China.
China does not allow dual nationality, and Gu would not confirm on Tuesday whether she still held both passports.
‘So I grew up spending 25-30% (of my time) in China. I’m fluent in Mandarin and English and fluent culturally in both,’ she answered, when asked if she was still an American citizen.
‘So coming here, I really feel there was a sense of coming home. I feel just as American as Chinese. I don’t feel I’m taking advantage of one or another. They understand that my mission is to foster a connection between countries and not a divisive force.’
When the reporter asked again, the news conference moderator interjected: ‘Next question, please.’
Gu, who has so far won a gold and silver medal in Beijing, has avoided questions regarding her citizenship. After choosing to represent China for the winter games, the popular skier has found herself in political turmoil as many question whether she still is an American citizen.
Gu, whose Chinese name is Ailing Eileen Gu, is also a fashion model and an incoming student at Stanford University, one of her mothers alma maters.
Beijing is under the spotlight for the way the government is treating the Uyghurs. The Chinese Communist Party has been pressured to provide more information on current events in the autonomous region of Xinjiang from the United Nations
The fashion model and incoming Stanford University student whose Weibo following has ballooned to almost three million from just under two million on Monday, says she feels at home in China.
‘There’s like a tower here you can see from the top of the course. And I’m also seeing it from my house in Beijing,’ she explained, where her face is ubiquitous in advertising.
Gu told her critics: ‘I am not trying to keep anyone happy. I am an 18 year old girl living my life and trying to have a great time.’
She added: ‘It doesn’t really matter if other people are happy or not because I feel as though I am doing my best.
‘I’m enjoying the entire process, and I’m using my voice to create as much positive change as I can for the voices who will listen to me in an area that is personal and relevant to myself.
‘I know that I have a good heart and I know my reasons for making the decisions I do are based on a greater common interest and something I feel is for the greater good.
‘If other people don’t really believe that that’s where I’m coming from, then that just reflects that they do not have the empathy to empathize with a good heart, perhaps because they don’t share the same kind of morals that I do and, in that sense, I’m not going to waste my time trying to placate people who are, one, uneducated and, two, probably never going to experience the kind of joy and gratitude and love that I have the great fortune to experience on a daily basis.’
She said her critics did not share the empathy she had and that she refused to bow down to them.
Gu is not the only American competing for China in Beijing. Two members of the Chinese men’s hockey team – including Jake Chelios, son of Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios – are also born and raised in the US.
