A spectacular finish for American-born Eileen Gu, a freestyle skier, secured the 18-year-old her first gold medal for China this week at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
After her victory, China's General Administration of Sport sent her a congratulatory letter encouraging her to "strive for greater glory for the Party and the people" and continue to help realise "the dream of a powerful sports nation".
But Gu's victory cast the spotlight on a more uncomfortable topic related to her participation for China: her citizenship status.
Like many of the athletes representing Team China, Gu was born and trained in a foreign country but competes for China.
However, it's unclear whether she or any of the others have given up their foreign passports to comply with China's rules banning dual citizenship.
Or whether China has bent the rules to get more elite athletes on board.
Jeanne Huang, an international law expert at the University of Sydney, said it was "impossible" for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and China to provide exemptions to the citizenship requirement.
"The Olympic Charter Rule 41 is very clear, which requires the athletes to have the citizenship for representing a country," Dr Huang said.
"China's law on citizenship, it's very strict. It clearly says it does not recognise dual citizenship.
"Only those who made great contributions to China and have strong connections with the country can be granted with the citizenship."
Gu herself has remained ambiguous on the topic.
The lack of clarity on her citizenship comes at a tense time in geopolitical relations, and when Beijing is trying to demonstrate dominance on the world stage.
China has entered a record number of athletes —176 — in this year's Games.
"China is not a powerful nation in winter sports," said Sow Keat Tok, a China researcher at the University of Melbourne.
China 'playing a political game'
Other athletes competing for China that have attracted scrutiny include the American-born figure skater Zhu Yi, who was criticised by Chinese netizens after she fell during her event and finished last.
The men's ice hockey team has also been in the spotlight, after China put together a team including 11 Canadians, three Americans, and one Russian player.
Team China's American-born ice hockey goalie Jeremy Smith recently told ESPN he did not renounce his US citizenship and China did not ask him to.
China automatically qualified for the ice hockey competition because it is hosting the games and the team lost to the US in their Olympic debut last week.
It's unclear how many athletes in Team China fall under this citizenship cloud.
The ABC contacted the IOC for clarification but the response did not address the specific questions, instead saying that athletes' citizenship was governed by the Olympic Charter.
That charter states competitors can hold more than one citizenship, but can only represent one country at an Olympic Games.
The Chinese Olympic Committee has also been approached for comment.
Heidi Grappendorf, an expert in sports management at Western Carolina University, said China was "playing a bit of a political game" with the Olympic rules and its own laws that don't allow dual citizenship.
"I would posture with the already tumultuous fact that the games are being held in a country with alleged massive civil rights violations, as well as the political nature and icy relations of China and the US, that the IOC may be actively choosing to remain silent to avoid fuelling any further controversy."
Recruiting foreign-born athletes a 'common phenomenon'
China is far from the only country to enlist so-called "ringers".
US-born NBA player Matisse Thybulle only spent seven years in Australia as a child but because he maintained dual Australia-US citizenship he was able to play with the Australian basketball team at last year's Tokyo Olympic Games.
Naturalising foreign-born athletes is another tactic used by countries to boost competitiveness, said Dr Tok.
"Since the 1990s, many Chinese athletes have been naturalised in other countries," he said.
Naturalised means to make a person a legal citizen of a country they were not born in.
To attract foreign sports talent, Australia currently offers a distinguished talent visa under the Global Talent Visa Program, a permanent residency for those who "have an internationally recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement" in a sport.
Li Shixin, a Chinese-born Australian Olympic diver, was a star of China's diving team before moving to Australia in 2017.
He competed in the Tokyo Olympics and told the ABC he "felt the pressure of winning" for Australia.
Li believes the geopolitical tensions between China and the US have intensified the focus on Team China's American-born athletes, but competitors "need to bear such pressure".
"Winning the game is not the most important thing. Rather, presenting the best of yourself is," he added.
Beijing explicitly outlined its strategy to recruit naturalised athletes for women's figure skating and ice dance for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in its "National Development Plan for Ice and Snow Sports (2016-2025)".
Zhu Yi was the first athlete recruited under the Morning Road program.
