By Jason Lim
Born a citizen on one country but representing another country in international sports venues is nothing new. A simple internet search will turn up hundreds of cases in recent history.
I guess it makes sense for individual athletes who are looking for that podium glory and the potential fame and riches that might follow. If you are good at badminton but are stuck in the second tier in Indonesia, then switching allegiance and playing for Australia, where the sport isn't as widespread at the highest levels, might prove to be a smart choice. The same goes for figure skating, canoeing, bobsleighing, etc.
Such is the economics of sports, and everyone was OK with it. It has never been a problem since sports is supposed to be beyond politics. Until it wasn't, with Eileen Gu.
Gu is a U.S. born freestyle skier who grew up in the U.S. with a Chinese-born mother and grandmother. Her father is an American but seems to not have been a part of her life. Having been raised by a Chinese mom and grandma, it's no wonder that Gu feels an affinity for the Chinese language and culture. Maybe that's what led her to compete for China in the 2022 Beijing Games. Also, as a professional model, China is where her best earning potential lies.
This phenomenon or sentiment isn't something that's foreign to me or any other 1st or 1.5 generation hyphenated immigrant Americans. I remember taking my first dates to a Korean restaurant in New York City way back when; this was a time when barbecues only came from Texas or North Carolina, and Korean barbecue was an oxymoron. I did that because I wanted to play to my strengths and show off my culture. It's fantastic when you are ethnically and culturally associated with something good, whether that's sports, food, or pop culture.
This is also what makes America diverse and lush in her cultural offerings, having access to such a rich heritage of cultures from all over the world.
However, the Olympics has never been about sports. In fact, any sports event whereby teams are delineated according to nationalities ― and the audience is also similarly tribalized and encouraged to cheer accordingly ― is bound to be about politics first and foremost. For athletes, the Olympics is about a representation of your loyalty. If you are a dual citizen or hold competing affiliations, then who you represent in the Olympics is about declaring your preferred political fealty.
Despite her cultural melting pot, or perhaps because of it, America takes individual allegiance seriously. The following is the Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the U.S.: "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law… that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."
Before this oath is administered, anyone who has gone through the naturalization process will also remember a question by the examiner who asks you whether you will take up arms against your former nation if a war breaks out between the U.S. and your former country. You'd better say, "Yes," if you want to become an American. In short, cultural preferences are fine and welcome, but political loyalties better be crystal clear.
In most cases, this isn't a huge issue in sports since the power dynamics between competing nationalities isn't equal enough to be rivals on the global stage. However, that's different between China and the U.S. in 2022.
In fact, the Beijing Olympics is all about politics in the emerging G2 world order in which sports seem almost incidental to the great power rivalry with two opposing systems of governance. This rivalry is not just something that's happening among the political and diplomatic elites; it has already seeped into the everyday cultural fabric of both countries, not to mention the satellite countries in their respective influence spheres.
In this environment, Eileen Gu choosing to represent China as a born-and-raised American ― and win multiple medals to boot ― can't be just a personal economic choice to maximize her earnings despite what her intentions may have been.
No matter how unfair it may seem, especially for an 18-year-old, her choice inevitably became a political statement and will echo in the months and years to come. Gu has been quoted to say that she is Chinese when she is in China but American when she is in the U.S. This may be true culturally but can't be true politically. And Olympics representation is a political choice.
Jason Lim (jasonlim@msn.com) is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture.
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I guess it makes sense for individual athletes who are looking for that podium glory and the potential fame and riches that might follow. If you are good at badminton but are stuck in the second tier in Indonesia, then switching allegiance and playing for Australia, where the sport isn't as widespread at the highest levels, might prove to be a smart choice. The same goes for figure skating, canoeing, bobsleighing, etc.
Such is the economics of sports, and everyone was OK with it. It has never been a problem since sports is supposed to be beyond politics. Until it wasn't, with Eileen Gu.
Gu is a U.S. born freestyle skier who grew up in the U.S. with a Chinese-born mother and grandmother. Her father is an American but seems to not have been a part of her life. Having been raised by a Chinese mom and grandma, it's no wonder that Gu feels an affinity for the Chinese language and culture. Maybe that's what led her to compete for China in the 2022 Beijing Games. Also, as a professional model, China is where her best earning potential lies.
This phenomenon or sentiment isn't something that's foreign to me or any other 1st or 1.5 generation hyphenated immigrant Americans. I remember taking my first dates to a Korean restaurant in New York City way back when; this was a time when barbecues only came from Texas or North Carolina, and Korean barbecue was an oxymoron. I did that because I wanted to play to my strengths and show off my culture. It's fantastic when you are ethnically and culturally associated with something good, whether that's sports, food, or pop culture.
This is also what makes America diverse and lush in her cultural offerings, having access to such a rich heritage of cultures from all over the world.
However, the Olympics has never been about sports. In fact, any sports event whereby teams are delineated according to nationalities ― and the audience is also similarly tribalized and encouraged to cheer accordingly ― is bound to be about politics first and foremost. For athletes, the Olympics is about a representation of your loyalty. If you are a dual citizen or hold competing affiliations, then who you represent in the Olympics is about declaring your preferred political fealty.
Despite her cultural melting pot, or perhaps because of it, America takes individual allegiance seriously. The following is the Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the U.S.: "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law… that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."
Before this oath is administered, anyone who has gone through the naturalization process will also remember a question by the examiner who asks you whether you will take up arms against your former nation if a war breaks out between the U.S. and your former country. You'd better say, "Yes," if you want to become an American. In short, cultural preferences are fine and welcome, but political loyalties better be crystal clear.
In most cases, this isn't a huge issue in sports since the power dynamics between competing nationalities isn't equal enough to be rivals on the global stage. However, that's different between China and the U.S. in 2022.
In fact, the Beijing Olympics is all about politics in the emerging G2 world order in which sports seem almost incidental to the great power rivalry with two opposing systems of governance. This rivalry is not just something that's happening among the political and diplomatic elites; it has already seeped into the everyday cultural fabric of both countries, not to mention the satellite countries in their respective influence spheres.
In this environment, Eileen Gu choosing to represent China as a born-and-raised American ― and win multiple medals to boot ― can't be just a personal economic choice to maximize her earnings despite what her intentions may have been.
No matter how unfair it may seem, especially for an 18-year-old, her choice inevitably became a political statement and will echo in the months and years to come. Gu has been quoted to say that she is Chinese when she is in China but American when she is in the U.S. This may be true culturally but can't be true politically. And Olympics representation is a political choice.
Jason Lim (jasonlim@msn.com) is a Washington, D.C.-based expert on innovation, leadership and organizational culture.
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