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China turns on Eileen Gu in staggering twist at Winter Olympics

Eileen Gu, pictured here at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Eileen Gu's comments about using VPNs have sparked backlash in China. (Photo by Wei Zheng/CHINASPORTS/VCG via Getty Images) (VCG via Getty Images)

China's golden girl Eileen Gu has sparked fresh controversy at the Winter Olympics with social media comments about Instagram and VPNs.

Gu is arguably the biggest superstar at the Beijing Games after switching allegiances from the USA to China and winning gold in the women's Big Air.

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And while it seems like the whole of China has fallen in love with the skiing phenom, some aren't happy with her recent comments about using Instagram.

Western journalists in China for the Olympics are finding it impossible to access services such as Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Google because of the country's "Great Firewall of China".

Even the Olympics-only wifi has restrictions, with local search engines not returning results for giant American publications such as the Washington Post and New York Times.

It’s all part of a concerted effort by the Chinese government to block internet access to certain elements of the outside world, such as social media, alternative views and Western philosophies.

There’s little recourse for China’s citizens to get to that content, even if they know it exists.

VPNs - or virtual private networks, designed to get around the so-called “Great Firewall” - are illegal to operate in China.

Eileen Gu, pictured here after winning gold in the freestyle skiing Big Air event at the Winter Olympics.
Eileen Gu celebrates after winning gold in the freestyle skiing Big Air event at the Winter Olympics. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) (Jean Catuffe via Getty Images)

So when Gu suggested Chinese residents go and download a VPN so they can access Instagram this week, it went down like the proverbial lead ballon.

“Why can you use Instagram and millions of Chinese people from mainland cannot, why you got such special treatment as a Chinese citizen," user 'Cilla Chan' asked Gu on Instagram.

"That’s not fair, can you speak up for those millions of Chinese who don’t have internet freedom."

Gu replied: “Anyone can download a vpn, it’s literally free on the App Store”.

Eileen Gu's comments regarding Instagram and VPN, pictured here on social media.
Eileen Gu's comments regarding Instagram and VPN. Image: Supplied

Eileen Gu cops backlash over VPN comments

According to website Protocol, a number of users fired back at Gu that Chinese citizens don’t have that sort of freedom.

Some suggested that if Gu is in fact a Chinese citizen - a question that she has deliberately refused to answer - she is enjoying benefits that her fellow citizens aren't.

“Literally, I’m not ‘anyone.’ Literally, it’s illegal for me to use a VPN. Literally, it’s not f**king free at all,” one Weibo user responded.

Screenshots of the exchange between Gu and the fan went viral on Chinese social media service Weibo, but were quickly censored by officials.

At its morning briefing in Beijing on Friday, the IOC was asked if the deletion of the screenshots was a violation of Rule 50 of its charter, which allows athletes to speak freely on matters of their choosing outside the confines of actual competition.

However the IOC declined to comment without further information.

Athletes were previously banned from making statements on political matters while at the Olympics, a rule that was relaxed before last year's Summer Games in Tokyo.

As Jay Busbee of Yahoo Sports in America pointed out: "Gu is already a huge star in China, but she’s liable to face enormous backlash if she flaunts the fact that she’s not living under the same rules as her fellow citizens."

The California-born Gu's bid for a second gold in Beijing was held up Sunday when women's freeski slopestyle qualification was postponed because of heavy snow.

with Yahoo Sports US

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