Olympic Champion Father Arthur Liu Shares His Parenting Philosophy
WRIC Report 03-08-2025
Yesterday (March 7th), Arthur Liu, father of Alysa Liu, a Chinese-American figure skating champion, gave a speech at the June 4th Memorial Museum in Los Angeles. From an exile plagued by nightmares to the father of an Olympic champion who died without regrets, Arthur Liu shared his daughter’s journey to success. The event was packed, with almost half the audience standing. The two-hour speech was filled with enthusiasm, with some shouting “A source of pride for the Chinese people!” After the speech, audience members, including those from Hong Kong and Taiwan, eagerly asked questions.
Arthur Liu candidly admitted that he still couldn’t appreciate his daughter’s fashion sense, including her hair color and lip piercing.
Arthur Liu pointed out that after his daughter’s success, he faced the temptation of huge sums of money, but he refused because he believed in principles. America gave him a second life and provided him with the environment to pursue the American Dream. He believes that as long as one works hard, their dreams will eventually come true. Arthur Liu is a single father raising five children on his own. He claims to be the poorest lawyer, but even faced with the temptation of enormous wealth, he still chose surrogacy.
Alysa Liu is the eldest daughter in her family. She has four younger siblings (triplets and a youngest brother), all of whom came into the world through the same means (egg donation and surrogacy). Alysa Liu has stated that because she grew up in such a family environment, “not having a mother” is a normal part of her life, and she doesn’t feel she’s missing anything.
Arthur Liu strongly supports his daughter Alysa Liu’s participation in figure skating. (Alysa Liu Instagram)
Arthur Liu’s speech in Los Angeles on March 7, 2026, hosted by Wang Dan (Right), a veteran of the June 4th Memorial Museum. (Image: WRIC)
Arthur Liu was shareong his parenting philosophy. (WRIC)
Alysa Liu knew she had three mothers when she was ten years old
Alysa Liu grew up in a “purely patriarchal” environment. She knew she had three mothers when she was ten years old.
Arthur Liu ‘s graying temples and deeply lined eyes betrayed the hardships he had endured. Dressed in a gray suit, he looked no different from any other lawyer. Sharing his daughter’s story, he mentioned his long-held desire to have children, leading him to have five children in the United States through surrogacy.
When Alysa Liu was six or seven, she asked him, “Why do I look different from my Chinese parents?” At the time, Arthur Liu was divorced from his Chinese ex-wife, and his reply was, “I’ll tell you when you grow up!” It wasn’t until his daughter was ten that the topic came up again, and he decided to be honest with her: “You have three mothers. Your life originally came from the white mother who donated eggs, the second mother was the surrogate mother who carried you, and the third mother is your legal mother.”
Arthur Liu said that Alysa Liu and the triplets’ surrogate mother are the same person. His family has always been very grateful to her for bringing them life and has even taken the children to Central California to meet her. Alysa Liu’s legal mother, Arthur Liu ‘s ex-wife, consistently supported his decision to use surrogacy. Even when he was busy with work, she often urged him to complete the procedures; it’s fair to say that without her, these children wouldn’t exist. In the children’s hearts, she is their mother. Alysa Liu visits her whenever she has the chance, and even invites her to spend the Lunar New Year with them
Alysa Liu expressed understanding and acceptance of her father’s choice.
Arthur Liu also shared the hardships and financial difficulties he faced in raising Alysa Liu. He said that when he first came to the United States, he worked two jobs a day, carrying boxes and washing dishes, and even suffered from mental health issues, having nightmares every night about still being on the run. But he remained strong and believed that everything could be overcome.
From the age of five, when Alysa Liu began to skate with ease and display her talent, their daily routine consisted of Arthur Liu waking up at 4:30 a.m., carrying his daughter to the car, driving to the skating rink for training, while he went to work at the law firm two blocks away. This seven-day-a-week training regimen continued without interruption.
A family of six squeezed into a one-bedroom apartment
At that time, the family of six lived in a one-bedroom apartment, with the five children sleeping in three bunk beds. However, Alysa Liu once said that those were her happiest days because the children were close to each other, crawling between their different beds. When he needed money, he borrowed from banks, spending over a million dollars to train his daughter in figure skating.
Alysa Liu could complete a two-and-a-half-lap jump at eight years old, a triple jump at nine and ten, and became the youngest U.S. Intermediate Women’s Champion at thirteen. Faced with such talent, he believed he would support her even if it meant selling everything he owned.
Alysa Liu said he was afraid of nothing and could overcome anything. In 1989, he wasn’t even afraid of death; now he could face death with a smile because he had trained an Olympic champion, and he had no regrets even in death. After his daughter’s success, he faced the temptation of huge sums of money, but he refused because he believed in principles. America gave him a second life and the environment to pursue the American Dream. He believed that as long as he worked hard, his dreams would one day be realized.
Despite being turned down by her coach for a comeback attempt, Alysa Liu insisted, “I want to come back.”
16-year-old Alysa Liu had retired from skating for two years due to years of high-pressure training, which had gradually turned her passion into a burden. During that time, she attended university, took her driving test, spent time in cafes, and even went trekking with friends to the Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal.
In 2024, during a family trip, Alysa Liu rekindled her love for skating and hoped to return. However, her coach initially refused, arguing that she had been off for two years and advised against returning to avoid damaging her previous reputation. But the then 18-year-old decided to try anyway. One Friday, she took the train to her father, Arthur Liu’s, office and told him she wanted to return to skating.
Arthur Liu said that he outwardly appeared calm, but inwardly he was thinking that he would have to subsidize his daughter’s training expenses again. However, this time, someone was finally taking over the training; he only needed to be a father and a spectator, as his daughter had said.
When he saw his daughter on the ice displaying an attitude of “I want to come back, I want to skate, I want to share with everyone, regardless of the ranking,” he knew she wasn’t skating for him; his mission was complete. Seeing her win the gold medal felt like a scene from a movie—from retirement to Olympic champion, a story even a script wouldn’t dare write.
Arthur Liu stated that his daughter’s return to the ice this time was different from traditional figure skating, but he still couldn’t appreciate her hair color and the ringed upper lip. He felt that his once beautiful daughter was now somewhat incomprehensible. However, he also knew he held old-fashioned views, and his daughter represented a new trend. Seeing her unbound by traditional ideas filled him with pride.
Many parents at the event asked him for advice on raising children. Liu Jun explained that due to his busy work schedule, he adopted a more “free-range” approach with his children, resulting in their independence. His attitude is to respect their wishes, because doing what they truly love brings them immense enthusiasm and joy. Parents shouldn’t force them, but they should accompany their children as they persevere.
He directly answered questions from the audience.
He also hoped that Alysa Liu, as a role model for teenagers, could demonstrate the power of pursuing dreams, and that she could make greater contributions to society in the future.
When asked by an audience member about his views on the CCP’s infiltration and suppression of Taiwan, Arthur Liu directly stated that the demands of Taiwanese people are the same as ours; we support each other and resist authoritarian regimes.
In response to questions about the current situation in Hong Kong, Arthur Liu pointed out that the CCP must release all political prisoners and restore the rule of law to Hong Kong.
Arthur Liu also reminded Chinese people not to follow those with ulterior motives in discriminating against other ethnic groups, not to be anti-immigrant, and not to be used, because Chinese people are also one of the discriminated-against ethnic groups; we are immigrants. We cannot fall for their tricks.
Arthur Liu also appealed to everyone to uphold democratic ideals and safeguard their own beliefs.
The event was packed, with almost half of the attendees standing. (Image: WRIC)