Chinese state propaganda apparatus has seized upon comments from three American Winter Olympic athletes to construct a narrative of American collapse, claiming the United States faces “deep divisions” and “social disorder” that threaten to plunge the nation into chaos.
The Global Times, a state-controlled newspaper serving as a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party, published its assessment following remarks made by three members of the 232-person American delegation at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The athletes expressed personal discomfort with representing their country due to disagreements with policies implemented by President Donald Trump’s administration.
At a press conference last week, freestyle skiers Hunter Hess and Chris Lillis told reporters they struggled with representing “everything that’s going on” in America. Hess stated it was “a little hard” for him to “wear Team USA gear” because he was not “the biggest fan” of “a lot going on” domestically. He clarified to reporters that wearing the American flag did not signify his endorsement of all current government policies.
Lillis described himself as “heartbroken” regarding immigration enforcement actions conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He expressed his belief that America should “focus on respecting everybody’s rights and making sure that we’re treating our citizens as well as anybody with love and respect.”
Gold medalist figure skater Amber Glenn, who identifies as pansexual, offered more extensive commentary on what she characterized as difficult circumstances for America’s LGBTQIA2+ community. Glenn stated that under the current administration, various communities face challenges, though she expressed optimism about collective strength and mutual support among affected groups.
Glenn defended her decision to speak publicly on political matters, rejecting the notion that athletes should remain silent on such issues. She argued that politics affect everyone’s daily lives and therefore warrant public discussion, even from those whose primary profession lies elsewhere. Following her remarks, Glenn announced she would take a temporary absence from social media due to negative responses to her statements.
The irony of China’s characterization deserves examination. The Chinese government operates one of the world’s most repressive regimes, systematically crushing any public expression of disagreement with dictator Xi Jinping and the Communist Party. Chinese athletes rarely, if ever, comment on political matters, not from satisfaction with their government but from justified fear of retribution.
The contrast illuminates a fundamental truth about free societies. That three athletes among more than two hundred felt comfortable publicly criticizing their nation’s leadership demonstrates the vitality of American democratic principles, not their collapse. In China, such comments would result in imprisonment, forced confession, or disappearance.
Beijing’s propaganda machine routinely exploits the openness of democratic societies to portray freedom of expression as weakness and dissent as disorder. This represents a calculated strategy to undermine confidence in democratic governance both domestically within China and internationally.
The comments from these three athletes, whether one agrees with their positions or not, reflect the exercise of rights that billions around the world do not possess. That reality appears lost on state propagandists who must construct narratives of American chaos to distract from their own government’s systematic oppression of fundamental human freedoms.
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