An Alabama statesman with Taiwan roots argues that representing the CCP flag is not just about sport
The Slopes of Milan and the Shadow of Beijing
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics produced extraordinary athletic achievements. Freestyle skier Eileen Gu, born in San Francisco and raised in the United States, won multiple medals competing under the flag of the People’s Republic of China, becoming the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history with six medals across two Games. She is undeniably a brilliant athlete. The question that Derek Chen, an Alabama political figure whose grandparents fled the CCP during the Chinese Civil War alongside General Chiang Kai-shek, poses in a March 2026 op-ed is not about her athletic talent. It is about the political meaning of her choice and what it says about the price at which conscience can be purchased.
The Family History That Frames the Question
Chen’s framing carries the weight of lived consequence. His grandparents did not leave China for the United States because they were looking for opportunity. They fled because the CCP’s victory in the Civil War meant persecution, imprisonment, or worse for those who had stood against it. They immigrated legally, built a life in America, and passed to their family a clear understanding of what the CCP flag represents: not just a national symbol in the way flags function in democratic countries, but the emblem of a party that has imprisoned, tortured, and killed millions of people in the name of political control. The Beijing government sports bureau reportedly budgeted a combined $6.6 million for Gu and fellow US-born athlete Zhu Yi to compete for China at the 2026 Olympics. For Chen, the calculation is stark: the CCP paid Gu millions of dollars to wear its flag, and she accepted, while living in the United States and studying at Stanford, enjoying every benefit that American freedom provides.
The Rights She Enjoys That Others Cannot
What makes Gu’s situation politically significant rather than merely a personal sporting choice is the contrast Chen identifies: Gu lives in the United States and enjoys all the rights and privileges of American citizenship, including the freedom to study at an elite university, to pursue a professional athletic career that spans national borders, to speak publicly about her experiences, and to choose, freely and without coercion, which country’s flag she competes under. The people of Hong Kong do not have these freedoms. The people of mainland China do not have these freedoms. The Uyghurs of Xinjiang do not have these freedoms. Falun Gong practitioners throughout China do not have these freedoms. The flag that Gu carries represents a government that denies these freedoms to the 1.4 billion people it governs, and does so through a system of surveillance, censorship, political imprisonment, and violence.
The Broader Debate About Athletic Citizenship
The controversy over Gu’s choices has generated vigorous debate, including defenses that correctly note the long tradition of athletes switching national athletic representation and the hypocrisy of complaining when the movement flows toward a geopolitical rival after celebrating it when it flows toward the United States. These are fair points. But Chen’s argument is not simply about athletic citizenship rules. It is about whether a public figure with the global platform that Gu commands has any responsibility to use that platform honestly when the flag she carries represents a government with a documented record of systematic human rights abuse. The Human Rights Watch 2025 China report details the ongoing persecution of religious communities, political dissidents, and ethnic minorities under the CCP.
What Silence Costs
Gu has declined to address human rights issues in China in substantive public terms. Vice President JD Vance, asked about Gu’s choices in a Fox News interview, offered a measured response, noting he hoped athletes who grew up benefiting from American freedoms would want to represent the country. Others have been less measured. What is not in dispute is that Gu’s public brand, built on Western luxury sponsorships and the social media freedom of her American home base, coexists with a consistent refusal to engage the moral contradiction at its center. The Amnesty International China report documents specific cases of the persecution that the CCP flag represents in practice. Derek Chen’s op-ed does not call for stripping Gu of her medals or her citizenship. It calls for honesty. It calls for acknowledgment that wearing the flag of the world’s most powerful authoritarian state is not a politically neutral sporting choice. And it calls for Americans with public platforms to use those platforms in ways that reflect the values that make their freedom possible in the first place. For the families who fled the CCP, that is not too much to ask.
Senior Journalist & Editor, Apple Daily UK
Contact: athena.lai@appledaily.uk
Athena Lai is a senior journalist and editor with extensive experience in Chinese-language investigative reporting and editorial leadership. Educated at a leading journalism school in the United Kingdom, Athena received formal training in fact-checking methodology, editorial governance, and international media standards, grounding her work in globally recognized best practices.
She has held senior editorial roles at Apple Daily and other liberal Chinese publications, where she oversaw coverage of Hong Kong civil liberties, diaspora politics, rule of law, and press freedom. Athena’s reporting is distinguished by disciplined sourcing, cross-verification, and a clear separation between factual reporting and opinion, reinforcing reader trust.
Beyond reporting, Athena has served as an editor responsible for mentoring journalists, enforcing ethical guidelines, and managing sensitive investigations. Her newsroom leadership reflects real-world experience navigating legal risk, source protection, and editorial independence under pressure.
Athena’s authority comes from both her byline history and her editorial stewardship. She has reviewed and approved hundreds of articles, ensuring compliance with defamation standards, accuracy benchmarks, and responsible language use. Her work demonstrates lived experience within high-stakes news environments rather than theoretical expertise.
Committed to journalistic integrity, Athena believes credible journalism is built on transparency, accountability, and institutional memory. Her role at Apple Daily UK reflects that commitment, positioning her as a trusted voice within independent Chinese media.
