Friends of Socialist China, Author at Friends of Socialist China

Is the crisis in Ukraine the beginning of a new world order?

In this important article, originally published in the Morning Star, Belgian political analyst Marc Vandepitte assesses the crucial importance of the recent joint statement of Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. Marc notes that this is the first time both presidents have spoken out so clearly and strengthened ties so closely. Situating this against the background of recent history, he explains that, following the end of the bipolar division of the world, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US had determined that no power should ever again be allowed to challenge its hegemony. However, China, “a poor, underdeveloped country rose in no time to become an economic superpower”. Despite desperate US opposition, a “unipolar world must make way for a multipolar world”. The Collective Security Treaty Organisation, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the new Silk Road are all building blocks for this. A strong peace movement is also a vital necessity.

JUST before the start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping issued a joint statement on international relations and on co-operation between China and Russia.

It is a document of about 10 pages that comes at a time of great tensions with Nato over Ukraine and of a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games.

The text can be read as a plea for a new world order in which the US and its allies are no longer in charge, but in which the aim is to create a multipolar world, with respect for the sovereignty of countries.

“The sides oppose further enlargement of Nato and call on the North Atlantic Alliance to abandon its ideologised cold war approaches, to respect the sovereignty, security and interests of other countries, the diversity of their civilisational, cultural and historical backgrounds and to exercise a fair and objective attitude towards the peaceful development of other states,” it reads.

Edgar Snow, and why his legacy is so important today

We’re pleased to republish this essay about Edgar Snow, written by Andy Boreham, a China-based journalist who works for Shanghai Daily and runs the Reports on China YouTube channel. Andy describes how Snow’s classic book Red Star Over China continues to inspire him to report factually and to counter the ubiquitous misrepresentation of China.

The vast majority of Western mainstream media reportage on China is negative and unbalanced, presenting China to the world as a dangerous, dirty dystopia, where 1.4 billion live terrible lives under the control of the “violent” Communist Party of China.

Of course, this is far from the reality. But any attempt to get the truth out about China, especially by foreigners living here, is often met with derision, accusations of CPC funding, and claims of brainwashing. Western media have also begun going out of their way to discredit foreigners who dare to say anything positive about China, with special reports where they twist facts and stain reputations.

But, believe it or not, this is nothing new …

On this day exactly 50 years ago, American journalist Edgar Snow passed away at the age of 66. Unfortunately he died just a week before then US President Richard Nixon made his famous 1972 visit to China and would never get to see the normalization of relations between the two nations.

Claudia Jones – fearless fighter for Black, women’s and colonial liberation

Today we celebrate the 107th birth anniversary of Claudia Jones: a communist and anti-imperialist; a fearless fighter for Black, women’s and colonial liberation; and an unwavering supporter of the Chinese Revolution.

Today we celebrate the 107th birth anniversary of Claudia Jones: communist and anti-imperialist; fearless fighter for Black, women’s and colonial liberation; and an unwavering supporter of the Chinese Revolution. pic.twitter.com/Fboc8UgwgZ
— Friends of Socialist China (@socialist_china) February 21, 2022

China and Mexico celebrate 50 years of bilateral relations

The following report is republished from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.

On February 14, 2022, President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Xi Jinping pointed out, both China and Mexico are countries with time-honored civilizations and history, and the friendly exchanges between the two peoples date back to ancient times. Since China and Mexico established diplomatic ties half a century ago, especially since the two countries established a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2013, bilateral relations have been developing on a fast track. The two countries have deepened political mutual trust and enhanced friendly exchanges and cooperation in various fields. In the face of the once-in-a-century pandemic, China and Mexico have stood together through thick and thin and extended a helping hand to each other, setting a good example of international solidarity in fighting the pandemic. The tree of China-Mexico friendship has flourished and borne bountiful fruits, bringing tangible benefits to the people of the two countries.

Argentina’s ambassador to China reflects on 50 years of China-Argentina relations

In this article for CGTN marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between China and Argentina, ambassador Sabino Vaca Narvaja details the deepening of the relationship over the last two decades in particular, starting with the Strategic Partnership announced by Hu Jintao and Néstor Kirchner in 2004. Most recently, Argentina has joined the Belt and Road Initiative, and the two countries are cooperating closely in an array of areas, including renewable energy, transport, housing and telecommunications. Vaca particularly notes China’s indispensable support during the Covid-19 pandemic: China supplied vast quantities of medical supplies, and has to date provided over 30 million vaccine doses. Sinopharm is now working with Sinergium Biotech to produce vaccines in Argentina.

Argentina and China are “comprehensive strategic partners,” the highest level of diplomatic relations, and this year we celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations. Here I invite you to join me in a brief review of the evolution of this relationship.

Since the beginning of the new century, the bilateral relationship has deepened. It was precisely in 2004 that the government of Néstor Kirchner signed the “Strategic Partnership between Argentina and China” with the then Chinese President Hu Jintao. An important figure in this event was the then chief of the cabinet of ministers and now president of the nation, Dr. Alberto Fernández. In 2014, the relationship was raised even higher to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Xi Jinping being presidents at that moment. Now the vice president is Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and the president is Alberto Fernández, who has just concluded a successful official visit to Beijing and signed the accession to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), deepening bilateral relations even more.

The nature of the comprehensive strategic partnership subscribed in 2014 by both governments implies a mandate to deepen cooperation in all areas, identifying and implementing projects that best meet the interests of both peoples. The potentialities of cooperation are incalculable since all areas are open to cooperation. In this aspect, we are working hard to consolidate and expand bilateral cooperation. An example of this is the Strategic Dialogue for Economic Coordination and Cooperation (DECCE). This mechanism is also in charge of implementing the Integrated Five-Year Plan which lists priority projects between both countries, such as photovoltaic parks, wind farms, gas pipelines, thermal power plants, transmission lines, dams and so on. There are also important projects related to strengthening our railway network, both in cargo and passenger transport and strengthening the connectivity of the Pacific through bi-oceanic corridors from east to west and the border crossings with Chile. Likewise, bridges, aqueducts, water treatment plants and residential buildings are being planned.

Danny Haiphong and Richard Medhurst explode anti-China myths

In this detailed interview with independent journalist Richard Medhurst, Friends of Socialist China co-editor Danny Haiphong explores the intense anti-China propaganda surrounding the Beijing Winter Olympics. Danny connects this propaganda to the broader context of the US-led New Cold War, being waged in large part to contain China and to prevent the emergence of a multipolar, democratic system of international relations in which the US can no longer maintain its political and economic hegemony. Danny and Richard specifically address the accusations around cultural genocide in Xinjiang; Eileen Gu’s decision to represent China at the Olympics; the so-called disappearance of Peng Shuai; and China’s Zero Covid strategy.

Huey P Newton: What I experienced in China was the sensation of freedom

Black Panther Party founder Huey P Newton was born 80 years ago, on 17 February 2022. In his memoir, Revolutionary Suicide, he reflects on visiting socialist China in September 1971. Away from the system of institutionalized racism and white supremacy that he had endured all his life in the US, in China he “felt absolutely free for the first time in my life”.

What I experienced in China was the sensation of freedom – as if a great weight had been lifted from my soul and I was able to be myself, without defence or pretence or the need for explanation. I felt absolutely free for the first time in my life – completely free among my fellow human beings. This experience of freedom had a profound effect on me, because it confirmed my belief that an oppressed people can be liberated if their leaders persevere in raising their consciousness and in struggling relentlessly against the oppressor.
Huey P Newton, Revolutionary Suicide (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, p348)

Black Panther Party founder Huey P Newton was born on this day in 1942. Visiting socialist China in September 1971, Newton commented that it was in Beijing that he felt absolutely free for the first time in his life. pic.twitter.com/Hy4Rl1UlLe
— Friends of Socialist China (@socialist_china) February 18, 2022

Understanding China’s latest guidelines for greening the Belt and Road

This important article from China Dialogue describes a new document issued by China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), Guidelines for ecological and environmental protection of foreign investment cooperation and construction projects. The authors describe the guidelines as “the most comprehensive document by any country regulator to guide environmental management of overseas projects”. Guidelines include adopting international standards or China’s stricter standards for environmental protection in host countries; actively cutting pollution of all kinds; strongly favouring clean energy; and reconsidering projects with high potential biodiversity costs. The authors note that these guidelines are not enforceable, but that they “send clear signals to China’s state-owned and private enterprises.” As such, they form an important milestone towards a Green Belt and Road.

This January, less than six months after publishing the “Green development guidelines for overseas investment and cooperation”, China’s ministries of commerce and of ecology and environment issued another set of recommendations with a similar name: “Guidelines for ecological and environmental protection of foreign investment cooperation and construction projects”.

How is this document different to last year’s? And how does it add value?

Simply put, the latest release reaffirms recommendations made in the earlier guidelines but has more focus on specific issues of environmental risk management throughout the whole lifecycle of Belt and Road projects. It provides more robust direction to manage environmental risks in specific sectors, such as energy, transport and mining.

It also reflects wider developments in recent months. Since the publication of last year’s guidelines, in July, China has made important commitments to support green overseas development. Notably, President Xi pledged China would no longer build new coal-fired power plants abroad, and would support green low-carbon energy in developing countries. In November, he further elaborated that China is exploring the establishment of an early warning and assessment system for overseas project risk.

China and Russia declare ‘new era’ of multipolarity, challenging US interventionism

We are pleased to republish the following article from Ben Norton, originally published on Multipolarista, in which he summarises the key points in the more than 5,000 word joint statement of the Chinese and Russian governments, released following the meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Beijing Winter Olympics. One of the most important documents in the recent history of diplomacy and international relations, Ben is surely correct in his opening assertion that, “February 4 2022 may very well be remembered in history textbooks as an important date in the shift of global politics.”

February 4, 2022 may very well be remembered in history textbooks as an important date in the shift of global politics.

That day was not only the inauguration of the XXIV Olympic Winter Games in Beijing; it also saw a historic meeting between the presidents of China and Russia.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin signed a series of important economic and political agreements, deepening the integration of the two Eurasian superpowers.

Among these was a major 30-year deal in which Russia will supply gas to China via a new pipeline, with both sides of the energy transfers managed by state-owned companies. And in a sign of their mutual efforts to challenge the dominance of the US dollar, they decided to settle the sales in euros.

Bigotry Unbound: the US media’s anti-China propaganda blitz

We are pleased to republish this article from US novelist and journalist Eve Ottenberg, originally carried on Counterpunch, in which she exposes how the racist, anti-communist, and at times downright fascist anti-China propaganda of important sections of the US media fuels both murderous racism at home and the danger of catastrophic war abroad.

Hate crimes against Asian Americans mushroomed over the past two years. According to the Guardian, they jumped 567 percent in San Francisco since 2021, and you don’t have to look far to find out why. The main reason is, quite simply, incessant China-bashing in the mainstream media. This propaganda campaign was kicked off by Trump in his last year in office with absurd, dangerous and bombastic claims that China, perhaps deliberately, caused covid. The anti-China hysteria spread like measles. Now the American right-wing deploys Nazi tropes against the Chinese – a repulsive example was a January 25 Washington Times article headlined “Chinese Communist Party Termites Are Everywhere in the U.S.” With Nazi poison like this circulating through red-blooded American veins, can war fever be far behind?

Meanwhile news industry giants, many serving as pentagon mouthpieces, are totally onboard with this media blitzkrieg. One of the most atrocious instigators is the New York Times. Take its so-called coverage of China’s superior covid policies, “reporting” so slanted you could roll a truckload of innuendos down it.

Unlike the incompetent, murderous, free-market, anti-public health non-system in the U.S., which has killed 900,000 people in a population of 330 million, China, population 1.4 billion, has contained covid deaths to a mere several thousand. These statistics reflect very poorly on our vaunted capitalist arrangement. Indeed, many Americans have been shocked by the comparison of their inept, homicidal health care scheme to communism’s stellar success. So, in jumps the Times January 13 with a crude philippic, trashing China for saving lives from the virus and, drumroll… you got it, suggesting China’s Zero Covid policy can be compared to the Holocaust.

The West covered sports in 2008, but politics in 2022 – what changed?

The following article, originally carried in Global Times, by Brian Becker, Executive Director of the US campaigning organisation ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), contrasts US media coverage of the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics with that of the current Winter Olympics being held in the same city and in this way outlines the poisonous and corrosive effect of New Cold War propaganda.

Contrasting the US and Western media coverage of the first day of the summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008 with their coverage of the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics in early February speaks volumes about the new political consensus that Washington is attempting to impose on news organizations.

In 2008, France 24, the French news service, reported that “The British press was united in declaring the ceremony the best in Olympic history and a stunning display of China’s new-found confidence.”

The New York Times was almost gushing: The Times wrote at 8:20 am on August 8, 2008, “NBC is not providing television coverage of the spectacular opening ceremony from the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing – in fact, you won’t be able to see it anywhere in the U.S. until tonight. But you can follow all that happens here on the Times Olympic blog, LIVE, as it happens.”

Edgar Snow, a lifelong friend of the Chinese people

On the 50th anniversary of his death, we celebrate the life of Edgar Snow, a lifelong friend of the Chinese people and proponent of US-China friendship. Snow’s pioneering book Red Star Over China, written in 1937, was the first introduction to the Chinese Revolution for millions in the English-speaking world. It remains essential reading today, and Snow’s life continues to inspire those that live by the principles of solidarity, international friendship and peace.

On the 50th anniversary of his death, we celebrate the life of Edgar Snow, a lifelong friend of the Chinese people and proponent of US-China friendship. pic.twitter.com/T6wAGOv9e9
— Friends of Socialist China (@socialist_china) February 15, 2022

Wang Wenbin: US theft of Afghan assets is no different from the conduct of bandits

Without the consent of the Afghan people, the US willfully disposes of assets that belong to the Afghan people, even keeping them as its own. This is no different from the conduct of bandits. This latest example has once again laid bare that the “rules-based order” the US claims to champion is not the kind of rules and order to defend the weak and uphold justice, but to maintain its own hegemony. As the culprit of the Afghan crisis, the US should not exacerbate the suffering of the Afghan people. It should unfreeze their assets, lift unilateral sanctions on Afghanistan as soon as possible, and assume its due responsibility to ease the humanitarian crisis in the country.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on February 15, 2022

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Weng Wenbin strongly denounces the US theft of Afghanistan's assets. He calls for a full unfreezing of those assets, along with an end to sanctions. pic.twitter.com/1Pes4eTZiE
— Friends of Socialist China (@socialist_china) February 16, 2022

The US Left’s China exception: the case of Dave Zirin

We are very pleased to publish this important article by our co-editor Danny Haiphong, originally published on The Chronicles of Haiphong. Using the Beijing Winter Olympics as his starting point, Danny outlines how even some of the most respected voices on the American left have a tendency to drop their progressive values when it comes to China. Danny identifies this as the China Exception. Whilst doubtless a play on the concept of American Exceptionalism, the phenomenon identified and analysed by Danny can also be seen in other imperialist countries, not least in Britain.

I like Dave Zirin. I really do. Zirin is one of the few journalists who analyzes sports from a leftists perspective. His work generally brings a refreshing take on the ways race and class impact one of the most widely consumed areas of popular culture. This article is not a polemic of Zirin’s body of work but rather a demonstration of a troubling trend.

With that said, Zirin and his colleague Jules Boykoff at The Nation have repeatedly demonstrated what I call the China Exception on the American Left. The China Exception is the tendency for even principled left activists and journalists to make critical concessions to the U.S. establishment on the question of China. Those who commit to the China Exception repeat the subtle yet dangerous aspects of the U.S.’s New Cold War propaganda while claiming to be opposed to a “hot war” with China. The conclusion is always that is bad and doesn’t deserve solidarity from the American Left—not even in the form of concrete opposition to U.S. aggression.

Are the Uighurs ‘slave labourers’?

We are pleased to republish this article by Dr Jenny Clegg, academic, author and veteran activist, originally published in the Morning Star. Jenny dissects the latest report on the situation in Xinjiang from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), whose funding by the US State Department, NATO, the British and Japanese governments, arms manufacturers and other dubious sources, utterly refutes its specious claim to be an “independent, non-partisan think tank”, with help from detailed analysis by CoWestPro Consultancy, which is also Australia-based. Jenny also advances the view that problems and shortcomings in China have to be viewed against its background as a developing country.

THE issue of Uighur forced labour is held up as a particularly pernicious abuse of human rights in China.

Prominent here has been the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (Aspi) 2020 report, Uyghurs For Sale, claiming that the Chinese government is orchestrating a forced Uighur labour programme.

Aspi counts the US Department of State, Nato, and a number of arms dealers among its largest donors — why an organisation oriented towards strategy and defence should take up the issue of forced labour is anybody’s guess.

Be that as it may, Aspi’s report has been used to support recent US legislation to ban goods made by Uighur labour. Now, with cries of “slave labour” from the likes of Tom Tugendhat leading the way, Britain may well follow suit with a similar Bill this year.

China agrees to help Nicaragua develop infrastructure, hospitals, renewable energy

We are very pleased to republish this short article by Ben Norton, originally carried on Multipolarista, outlining the huge strides made in developing friendly relations and cooperation between Nicaragua and China since the two countries resumed diplomatic relations in December last year and especially since Nicaragua formally joined the Belt and Road Initiative last month. Major Chinese state owned companies will take the lead in a comprehensive program to develop hospitals, renewable energy, medical equipment, roads, railways and ports, as well as the water and public health systems, in the Central American nation.

The People’s Republic of China has come to an agreement with Nicaragua’s Sandinista government to develop infrastructure projects in the Central American country.

Top Nicaraguan officials announced on February 9 that they had signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding with representatives from Beijing.

Under the agreement, China will help Nicaragua develop hospitals, renewable energy, medical equipment, roads, railways, and ports, as well as its water system and public health sector.

Beijing 2022 and China’s challenge to sports imperialism

We are pleased to republish the full text of this insightful and thought-provoking article by Charles Xu of the Qiao Collective, originally published a few days before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics. In his article, Charles notes how New Cold War propaganda regarding Xinjiang, the case of tennis star Peng Shuai and China’s zero-Covid policies, have been deployed in the run up to the Games. He further links this to the long and deep-seated strain of racism, and specifically aristocratic white supremacy, in the modern Olympic movement and also outlines the history of China’s relationship to the Olympics from the days of Kuomintang rule through to Beijing becoming the first city ever to host both the summer and winter Games. HIs concluding section on the Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO), organised in 1963 on the initiative of Indonesian President Sukarno, and in which the PRC played a crucial role, is particularly interesting. This was a time when an anti-imperialist Asian axis of Jakarta-Phnom Penh-Hanoi-Beijing-Pyongyang was often invoked. Some readers may note that the concept of New Emerging Forces continued to be frequently invoked by Korean President Kim Il Sung in his diplomatic and internationalist work over subsequent decades.

The incredible disappearing diplomatic boycott

On February 4, the 2022 Winter Olympics are set to open in Beijing. With this, the Chinese capital will become the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Games. It will also make the People’s Republic of China the first country in the Global South ever to host the Winter Olympics, which have historically been dominated by Europe and North America (home to the top 14 countries in the all-time medal table). China remains the only Asian host nation in history besides Japan and South Korea, both of which are advanced capitalist states embedded firmly within the US economic and military sphere of influence.

These milestones have gone almost entirely unremarked-upon in Western media coverage leading up to the Games, which instead paints China as a uniquely “authoritarian” and therefore undeserving host. On this as with virtually every issue of geopolitical import, corporate media march in lockstep with their respective governments in their drive toward a new Cold War against China. The United States led the way in announcing a “diplomatic boycott” of the Beijing Olympics on December 6, 2021, citing allegations of “genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses.” It was followed by Britain, Canada, and Australia (i.e. all but one of its “Five Eyes” allies), as well as Japan and a smattering of small north European countries.

A Comprehensive and Accurate Understanding of “The New Road of Chinese-Style Modernisation”

We are pleased to publish this paper by Han Qingxiang, from the Party School of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, who is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Han presents a detailed outline and explanation of the CPC’s understanding of the new phase of China’s socialist modernisation, highlighting both the new aspects since the first phase of China’s reform and opening up, as well as the continuities, along with its antecedents in Marxist theory, specifically work by Marx and Engels in the 1840s and 1850s. The paper was delivered at the Cloud International Workshop on “New Forms of Human Civilization from a World Perspective,” held by the School of Marxism, Dalian University of Technology (DUT), 29-31 October 2021. We are grateful to the DUT Translation Team for their work, as well as to Professor Roland Boer for his meticulous sub-editing and cooperation.

General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speech at the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (referred to as the “7.1” speech) pointed out:

Following our own road – this is the firm foothold of all the theories and practices of our Party. More than that, it is the historical conclusion our Party has drawn from its struggles over the past century. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a fundamental achievement of the Party and the people, forged through untold hardships and great sacrifices, and it is the correct path for us to achieve the great rejuvenation of China. By upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics and promoting the coordinated development of material, political, spiritual, social and ecological civilisations, we have created a new Chinese-style path of modernisation and a new form of human civilisation.[1]

Here, from “following our own road” to “the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics” and then to “the new road of Chinese-style modernisation” provides a comprehensive exposition of the Chinese road’s formative and developmental logic, essential characteristics, important position, and comprehensive elaboration of global significance, all of which has rich political and scientific value.

US enters dangerous era as it approaches one million Covid-19 deaths

Friends of Socialist China co-editor Danny Haiphong analyzes the significance of the US approaching 1 million Covid-19 deaths by Spring 2022. He concludes that the US has given up on the fight against the pandemic, a move rooted in more than two years of capitalist negligence. The biggest tragedy of all is that ordinary Americans have been stripped of their capacity to learn from and implement China’s effective covid-19 response within their own context. The article was originally published in CGTN on 11 February 2022.

The United States has been one of the most dangerous places to contract COVID-19 since the pandemic began two years ago. The current number of U.S. deaths to COVID-19 is estimated to be 908,000 and trending upward. Hospital beds, healthcare workers, and protective equipment remain in short supply. Both the U.S. political establishment and media continue to spread misinformation about the virus and demonize China to deflect attention from their self-inflicted pandemic disaster. Recent epidemiological forecasts predict that the United States will reach one million COVID-19 deaths by the end of the winter.

These troubling trends do not seem to bother the current political leadership in the United States. Several states are easing public health measures such as mask requirements. The New York Times front page on February 5 ran job growth as its top story while placing at the bottom an announcement that the U.S. had reached 900,000 COVID-19 deaths. The Times concluded that Americans are simply moving on from COVID-19. This contradicts U.S. President Joe Biden’s campaign message that 100,000 COVID-19 deaths were too many when the U.S. reached this milestone in May 2020.

Eileen Gu doesn’t care what you think – and no one else should, either

We are pleased to republish this article by Ian Goodrum, originally published in China Daily on 9 February 2022, comprehensively exposing the stark hypocrisy of those criticising Eileen Gu (Gu Ailing) for choosing to compete for China in the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Since she was 15, Eileen Gu (Gu Ailing) has had a target on her back.

The US-born freestyle skier of Chinese heritage announced in 2019 she would be competing for the People’s Republic at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, a decision met with enthusiasm in China — for obvious reasons — but intense animosity on the other side of the Pacific. On social media, vile comments flooded in calling her every name under the sun. Gu was ungrateful, they said, and had spurned the country they felt was entitled to her labor.

That already venomous response shifted into overdrive this week, when Gu, now 18, won gold in women’s freeski big air. Her miraculous run included a career-first 1620 in competition, barely edging out her nearest opponent and sending her name into the stratosphere.