Chinese authorities appear to have censored a document showing plans to spend more than US$6.6 million this year on training for two US-born winter sport athletes, including double Olympic gold medalist Eileen Gu.
Freestyle skier Gu and figure skater Beverly Zhu were both born and raised in the US, but switched allegiance to China. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Gu’s medal success — she won two golds and a silver — made her a national hero, while Zhu’s blunder-filled performance led to online criticism.
A document published last week by the Beijing City Government designated 48.14 million yuan (US$6.64 million) of funds for training ahead of next year’s Milan Cortina Games for the two athletes, according to reports from a monitoring organization and local media.
Photo: AFP
The document was still available on the Beijing government Web site as of yesterday morning, but mention of the two athletes was gone.
A report covering the document by independent Chinese financial magazine Caixin was also taken down, and the news has been removed from other sites, too, news and censorship monitor China Digital Times (CDT) said.
The US$6.64 million was designated as “assurance expenditure for the competition training of talented athletes,” a screenshot of the government document published by CDT showed.
“Gu and Zhu will continue to represent Beijing at their respective competitions,” the document said.
In the past few years, China has naturalized foreign-born athletes to boost national squads, notably in soccer and ice hockey.
Although common in other countries, the recruitment of foreign players is unusual in China where there is minimal inward migration and citizens are banned from holding dual nationality.
Gu’s citizenship status has been the subject of intense scrutiny. She has repeatedly dodged questions about whether she has relinquished her US passport for a Chinese one.
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