Alysa Liu and Her Family Were Once Targeted by Chinese Spies

At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Alysa Liu has become one of Team USA’s brightest stories — a former teen prodigy who walked away from the sport, found her way back, and now the reason why an American Olympian has won gold during a skating event for the first time in 20 years.

But four years ago, in the lead-up to the 2022 Winter Olympics, her life briefly felt less like a comeback narrative and more like a geopolitical thriller.

Why Was Alysa Liu's Family Targeted by Chinese Spies?

Just months before she was set to compete in Beijing, Liu and her father, Arthur Liu, were targeted in what U.S. authorities described as a Chinese government–linked spying operation. The reason traced back decades — to Arthur’s involvement in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

Arthur fled China at 25, eventually settling in the Bay Area, earning a law degree from the University of California, and starting his own practice. He had grown up in a small mountain village in Sichuan Province, one of six children. His political activism forced him to leave his home country. Years later, as his daughter rose to global prominence in a sport that would take her back to Beijing, that past resurfaced.

According to reporting at the time, one of five men charged with spying on Chinese dissidents in the U.S. allegedly contacted Arthur in 2021 while posing as a U.S. Olympic official. He asked for passport information. Authorities later said the suspect traveled to California’s Bay Area to surveil the family and attempt to gather private details.

Arthur told the Associated Press then that he believed the effort was meant to intimidate them — to discourage him from speaking out about human rights issues. He worried about his daughter’s safety. He also credited the U.S. government with protecting her.

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World champion figure skater Alysa Liu says she had an abnormal childhood. She says her coaches told her when to practice, what to wear, which music to skate to, and even how much to eat. “Especially as a kid, you know, you don’t really know what you want. Skating feels more like a responsibility, or a burden even,” says Liu. #iceskating #figureskating #alysaliu #childhood

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For Liu, who was still a teenager, the experience felt surreal.

She later described it as “a little bit freaky and exciting,” recalling how unbelievable it sounded when she first learned what was happening. At one point, she said she wondered if she was living in a prank show or a movie.

Instead of retreating, she leaned into curiosity. She met with the FBI agent assigned to help protect her family — including dinners at a local Japanese restaurant where, by her own account, she asked endless questions about what the agent did for a living. The situation made her feel “safe,” she said, even if the broader circumstances were anything but ordinary.

Security around her trip to Beijing intensified. The State Department and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee provided heightened assurances, and she was escorted throughout the Games.

Alysa Liu's Skating Hiatus

After competing in Beijing in 2022, she stunned the sport by retiring at 16 — a decision she made without consulting her father. She wanted time at home with her family outside of the rink.

When she returned in 2024, it was on her terms. She chose her music. She shaped her training. Her father stepped back from day-to-day involvement. In 2025, she won the World Championships, confirming that the comeback was real.

She returned in 2024 and began choosing her own music and shaping her own training, with her father taking a backset to the day-to-day involvement. In 2025, she won the World Championships, and she swept the 2026 Winter Olympics, taking third in the short program and first during free skate, which she executed a flawless performance.