Former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has criticized US-born figure skater Elaine Jo for choosing to represent China rather than the US, saying you “defend freedom or advocate human rights abuses”.
The 50-year-old former South Carolina governor added that there is “no one in between” when it comes to choosing certain countries. She made her comments during an interview with Real clear policy Tuesday.
Gu, 18, is a US-born Olympic skier who is currently a member of the team for the 2022 Chinese Winter Olympics 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, and she spoke Mandarin most of the time while growing up.
In terms of nationality see China or the United States? You have to choose aside. Hayley told the online political news site.
You have to choose a side because you are either American or Chinese, which are two completely different countries. …every athlete needs to know when they put their flag on, or when you’re standing up for freedom or standing up for human rights abuses. There is no in between.’
Gu, who was born and raised in San Francisco, faced backlash from the US media for siding with China at the Games amid the country’s appalling treatment of Chinese Uighurs – a Muslim minority in Xinjiang, an autonomous region in the northwestern part of the country. country.
Former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Olympic athletes should choose to represent “freedom” or “human rights abuses”.
Hailey told the gold medalist from China that “there is nothing in between” when it comes to representing the United States or China. Gu has repeatedly told media outlets that she feels Chinese as much as she feels American even though she was born and raised in California.
Gu is photographed with her Chinese mother, Yan. I was born and raised in San Francisco. Her father, who is said to be American, has not been named publicly
Detainees listen to sermons at a camp in Lop County, Xinjiang, China – China’s Muslim-majority northwest province. China has been accused of leading a genocide in the region due to cultural and religious differences
Hailey pointed out the human rights violations that Uyghurs constantly face, saying that she still had difficulty dealing with those imprisoned because of their difference in religion.
“I can’t get pictures out of my head of them kneeling and blindfolded, knowing what’s going to happen to them,” Hayley said. I can’t imagine in any way supporting that or supporting China.
Haley, who was a member of the Trump administration for 2016, said it was her “hope and prayer” that Americans would understand that “It was China that gave us COVID.”
“China is the country that is stealing intellectual property. China is the country that is committing human rights abuses.” And it is China that has become a surveillance country that will now start dictating our American companies, which is why they are starting to leave.”
“At some point, we need to understand that it is time to move out of China,” she concluded.
Gu, who won gold in women’s freestyle and silver in women’s swimming, avoids questions about her nationality and whether she has given up her US citizenship to compete for China.
China does not allow dual citizenship, and Gu will not confirm on Tuesday whether she still holds both passports.
So I grew up spending 25-30% (of my time) in China. She answered fluent Mandarin and English and I speak both fluently.
So, coming here, I really feel that there is a sense of being back home. I feel as American as the Chinese. I don’t feel like I’m taking advantage of this or that. They understand that my job is to strengthen the relationship between nations, not to force division.
When the reporter asked again, the director of the press conference intervened: “Next question, please.”
Gu, who has so far won a gold and silver medal in Beijing, avoided questions about her nationality. After choosing to represent China at the Winter Games, the famous skater has found herself in political turmoil with many wondering if she is still an American citizen.
Gu, whose Chinese name is Illing Elaine Gu, is also a model and incoming student at Stanford University, and one of her mothers is an alma mater.
Beijing is under the spotlight for the government’s handling of the Uyghurs. The Chinese Communist Party was pressured to provide more information about current events in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region from the United Nations
The model and up-and-coming Stanford student, whose Weibo followers rose to nearly three million from less than two million on Monday, says she feels right at home in China.
There is a tower here that you can see from the top of the path. She also explained it from my home in Beijing, where her face is everywhere in ads.
Gu told her detractors, “I’m not trying to please anyone. I’m an 18-year-old girl living my life trying to have a good time.
She added, “It doesn’t really matter if other people are happy or not because I feel like I’m doing my best.
I enjoy the whole process, and I use my voice to bring about as much positive change as possible to the voices who will listen to me in a personal and relevant area for myself.
I know I have a good heart and I know that my reasons for making the decisions I make are based on a greater common interest and something I feel is for the greater good.
If other people don’t really believe that’s where I come from, it just reflects that they don’t have the empathy to sympathize with a good heart, maybe because they don’t share the same kind of morals I came to do, and in that sense, I wouldn’t waste my time trying to please people , who are, one, uneducated, and second, probably never going to experience the kind of joy, gratitude, and love that I have so much fortune to experience on a daily basis.
She said that her critics did not share her sympathy, and that she refused to bow to them.
Gu is not the only US rival to China in Beijing. He and two members of the Chinese men’s hockey team – including Jake Chelios, son of Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios – were also born and raised in the United States.
“Student. Incurable problem solver. Amateur baconaholic. Introvert. Infuriatingly humble music fanatic.”