Alysa Liu Parents: Family Targeted by Spies as Skater Rises at Milano Cortina
Alysa Liu Parents are once again at the center of attention as fresh reporting ties her family’s past political activism to a documented espionage effort, even while she plays a key role for the U. S. at the Milano Cortina Winter Games.
Alysa Liu Parents and the espionage shadow over an Olympic bid
Recent coverage confirms that the U. S. Department of Justice charged five men in 2022 with acting on behalf of the Chinese government and targeting Chinese dissidents living in the United States. The criminal complaint lists Alysa Liu’s father, Arthur, as "Dissident 3" and names Alysa Liu as a "family member" in the same filing. Prosecutors say the case included attempts to gather personal information and conduct surveillance on the family.
One of the accused, Matthew Ziburis, is identified in reporting as having impersonated an Olympic official in November 2021 and requested faxed copies of passports for Arthur and Alysa. Ziburis is also connected with follow-up surveillance activity in the Bay Area where the family lived. Arthur declined the passport request and later described the interactions as "fishy, " while Alysa has described the experience as surreal, saying it felt like being in a prank show and that the episode was both "freaky and exciting. "
Security, family travel and the 2026 Games
Those revelations are now part of the backdrop as Alysa Liu competes in Milan. Recent accounts note that Arthur plans to attend the 2026 Winter Olympics with a group of 26 relatives and friends, a stark contrast with earlier periods when travel was primarily about preserving his safety. The family’s decisions about attendance and visibility at the Games are now informed by a history that includes pro-democracy activism and later targeting by operatives accused of working for a foreign government.
The reports also place the spy case alongside Alysa’s competitive comeback. She finished sixth at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games and has returned to prominence at Milano Cortina, where she helped the U. S. in the team event and entered the individual long program in a top position on Thursday, Feb. 19 (ET). The mixing of high-stakes sport and geopolitical risk has become a defining element of this Olympic moment for the family.
Family profile and public interest
Separate coverage has also spotlighted the Liu family more broadly, introducing readers to siblings named Selina and triplets Julia, Joshua and Justin. That profile work underscores the public curiosity now focused on personal lives behind elite athletes, even as security issues remain part of the conversation.
For now, the converging developments—legal action tied to alleged spying, Arthur’s history of pro-democracy organizing, his planned travel with relatives to the Games, and Alysa’s on-ice resurgence—make the Liu family story a rare mix of sport and international intrigue. The athlete herself has acknowledged the oddity of the situation but continues to concentrate on competing on the Olympic stage while her family navigates the fallout from those earlier threats.
