Dharamshala, 29th January: As China prepares to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing, a group of foreign activists has called for a boycott of the “#2022GenocideOlympics” because of the country’s treatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.
Athletes, broadcasters, and others have been urged to boycott the games in protest of China’s human rights violations against Uyghurs in Xinjiang’s northern area, suppression of democratic uprisings in Hong Kong, and political and religious repression of Tibet’s Buddhists.
One open letter to the athletes asks, “Surely human life is worth more than medals? We urge you to choose the right side and stand against genocide.”
Even as participants and sponsors of the Games began to arrive in Beijing, protestors continued to push them to speak out. Their remarks were made during a virtual press conference hosted by Human Rights Watch on Friday.
According to The Associated Press, Lhadon Tethong, co-chair of the International Tibet Network, said at the meeting, “Your silence is their strength, this is what they want more than anything: that the world will play by China’s rules, that we will follow China’s lead, that we will look away from these atrocities and crimes for the sake of business as usual.”
The US, which in the final days of the Trump administration formally accused China of genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs, would not send any high-level diplomats as observers. The White House stated that it will continue to support athletes competing in the Beijing Olympics, which will take place from February 4 to February 20.
According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, the Biden administration took this measure because it would signal its reservations without penalizing the athletes who had been practicing for the competition.
China retaliated by claiming that the boycott was motivated by “ideological prejudice and based on lies and rumors,” and that it violated the Olympic principle of political neutrality.
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