Olympic skier Eileen Gu sparks a debate about dual nationality

“I’M AMERICAN WHEN I’m in the US, and I’m Chinese when I’m in China.” So Eileen Gu, a gold-medal-winner for Team China at the Beijing Winter Olympics, replied when asked if she was still an American citizen. Ms Gu, born and raised in America, is a superstar in China. But many Chinese are puzzled. China does not recognise dual nationality. Questions about whether she holds two passports have fuelled debate about whether China should change its strict citizenship rules.

Ms Gu’s case is not unusual at the Olympics, which end on February 20th. Zhu Yi, a figure-skater, was also born and raised in America. Most players in China’s men’s ice-hockey team are foreign-born. The International Olympic Committee says that Ms Gu acquired Chinese nationality in 2019 and that China’s Olympic body produced a copy of her Chinese passport. But it is unclear whether she has renounced her American citizenship, or if China has allowed her not to. Like most rich countries, America allows dual nationality.

The issue has become important for many people in China. Millions of Chinese have moved abroad and many have gained foreign citizenship; others have acquired it by making investments. By law, this results in automatic forfeiture of Chinese citizenship. But many people keep quiet about their foreign nationality to avoid having to give up their...