With several international human rights groups calling for a boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, a total of 13 Canadian MPs from different political parties have signed an open letter urging the International Olympic Committee to face up to the human rights abuses committed by the Chinese authorities in Xinjiang and withdraw the right to host the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
The letter, signed by 13 Canadian MPs, warns that “attending the Beijing Winter Olympics next February would be tantamount to participating in a sinister and self-expanding exhibition and would be tantamount to aiding and abetting the worst Crimes Against Humanity committed by the Chinese government. The letter notes that some people may believe that sports and politics should not be mixed, “but when genocide occurs, it should no longer be seen as a political issue, but as a matter of human rights and crimes against humanity.”
The letter agrees that boycotting the Winter Olympics is akin to punishing athletes, stressing that they do not want the competitors to give up on pursuing their Dreams, and that the co-signers believe there is still Time for the IOC to move the Winter Olympics to another country.
The campaign was initiated by Quebec MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe and supported by all five political parties in Canada‘s Parliament, with Chinese MP Jenny Kwan among the signatories. In addition, Canadian sports, aboriginal groups and other ethnic groups have also signed on.
Last week, 180 human rights organizations around the world called for a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, with many Canadian political leaders and civil rights organizations joining in support. “I think someone has to do something to counter China’s retaliation and bullying, to at least give some hope of comfort to the abused Chinese people. China’s actions are unacceptable and they should not be allowed to use the Olympics as a platform for official international propaganda.”
David Shoemaker, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee, opposes a boycott of the Olympics, arguing that a boycott is not the answer and could even endanger Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were arrested by China. “Canada and dozens of other countries boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but it didn’t make the Soviet Union change much, it just made the athletes suffer. I think political issues still have to be solved by diplomacy, and we don’t want to use radical methods to make things more difficult for two Canadians.”
Canada is a regular winner of the medal table at the Winter Olympics in previous years, and Guan Zhuozhong believes that if Canada can stand up and be the leader, it will have a very critical influence on pressuring the IOC.
Last year, the Canadian Parliament’s International Human Rights Commission ruled that the Chinese authorities’ use of concentration camps, forced labour and forced sterilization against the Uighur people in Xinjiang met the definition of genocide.
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