US Olympic figure skating champion Alysa Liu and her father Arthur Liu were among those targeted in a spying operation ordered by the Chinese government ahead of the Beijing Olympics, according to the Justice Department.
In March 2022, Arthur Liu told The Associated Press that the FBI had contacted him the previous October, warning him about a Chinese spying scheme as his daughter prepared for her debut Olympics. Arthur subsequently chose not to tell Alysa about the situation, hoping to avoid throwing the then-16-year-old off her game.
"We believed Alysa had a very good chance of making the Olympic team and truly were very scared," the elder Liu said at the time.
The Justice Department later announced charges against five men accused of acting on behalf of the Chinese government, including stalking and harassing Chinese dissidents in the US. A former political refugee, Arthur immigrated to California after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
Arthur Liu Took a Stand Against "Chinese Bullying"
By allowing his daughter to compete in Beijing, Arthur said his family took a stand against the Chinese government's bullying.
"This is her moment. This is her once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games," Liu said at the time. "I'm not going to let them stop her from going, and I'll do whatever I can to make sure she's safe."
According to Arthur, Alysa received added protection in Beijing. She had at least two people escorting her at all times.
"They are probably just trying to intimidate us, to threaten us not to say anything, to cause trouble and say anything political or related to human rights violations in China," he continued. "I had concerns about her safety. The US government did a good job protecting her."
The USOPC supported Liu's efforts, stating that the safety and security of US athletes remained its "number one priority." Nonetheless, Alysa told her father that a stranger approached her at an Olympic cafeteria in Beijing, later following her and asking her to come back to his apartment.
"I've kind of accepted my life to be like this because of what I chose to do in 1989, to speak up against the government," Arthur said.
"I know the Chinese government will extend their long hands into any corner in the world. I'm going to continue to enjoy life and live life as I want to live. I'm not going to let this push me down, and I'm not going to let them succeed."
Alysa Liu Stages Olympic Comeback After Brief Retirement
After finishing seventh at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Alysa briefly retired from competitive skating.
"Heyyyyy so I'm here to announce that I am retiring from skating," she wrote in a since-deleted social media post. "I started skating when I was 5 so that's about 11 years on the ice and it's been an insane 11 years. A lot of good and a lot of bad but (you know) that's just how it is."
However, the younger Liu staged a remarkable comeback in 2024, rediscovering her love for the sport. She went on to win the 2025 World Championships in Boston, before capturing Olympic gold and ending a 24-year drought for US women's figure skating.
Alysa's triumphant return to the ice four years later proved her father's defiance was not in vain. Now a student-athlete at UCLA, the 20-year-old champion became the first US women's figure skater to win Olympic gold since Sarah Hughes in 2002.
"I'm so intentional now," Liu said this week. "I'm so grounded. Everything I do has a reason for why I do it."
