Alysa Liu vs Eileen Gu — How two Chinese American stars wound up on opposite sides of an Olympic proxy war

Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom slams Olympic skier Eileen Gu for representing ‘the worst human rights abuser on the planet’ on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’

Just minutes after Alysa Liu won a historic Olympic figure skating gold for the U.S., her story as the child of a Chinese American immigrant who fled communism spread like wildfire across social media. 

Almost immediately, that discourse evolved, in many circles, into comparisons against another Chinese American superstar who has dominated headlines in Milan Cortina — American-born Team China skier Eileen Gu.

"Alysa Liu > Eileen Gu" wrote Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy in a post on X, writing earlier, "The triumph of America over China!" 

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Other pundits were quick to point out the contrast between Liu's story, a tale of American loyalty among an immigrant's child, and Gu, who chose to compete for Team China when she was 15 years old, despite living her life in California. 

"Eileen Gu is unlucky that Alysa Liu’s patriotism stands in stark contrast to Gu’s betrayal of her country," American lawyer and political analyst Gordon Chang told Fox News Digital.

Just how different, and how similar, are the two Olympic superstars?

Liu's father, Arthur Liu, was there in Tiananmen Square in the spring and summer of 1989. 

The Tiananmen Square protests, also known as the Tiananmen Square massacre, proved to be a life-changing  moment for Arthur, and a history-changing moment for everyone else. Hundreds of Chinese students and residents in the capital city of Beijing were killed by the country's military for protesting the communist government. 

A Beijing demonstrator blocks the path of a tank convoy along the Avenue of