MILAN — Millions of people will watch Alysa Liu when the 20-year-old U.S. figure skater competes for a medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Can that be any more unnerving than being watched by Chinese spies?
In 2022, the U.S. Justice Department charged five men with acting on behalf of the Chinese government and targeting Chinese dissidents in the United States. The dissidents included Liu’s father, Arthur, who organized pro-Democracy protests in China before fleeing the country in 1989. And, according to her father, Alysa Liu was targeted too.
"In a weird way, I was like, 'Am I in some prank show? Is this world real?" Alysa Liu said in October while discussing the matter at a Team USA media event in New York.
More: Alysa Liu doesn't 'need' to win Olympic medal. But America needs her to
A man who claimed to be a US. Olympic official called Arthur Liu three months before Alysa Liu competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, he told USA TODAY Sports, and asked for faxed copies of their passports. Arthur Liu refused.
