The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee passed a bill on Feb. 25 to prevent China from using the Winter Olympics as a major foreign propaganda effort. The bill calls on the Secretary of State to ensure that U.S. athletes are aware of human rights issues in the host country before the event.
With the countdown to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing less than a year away, international voices are growing louder calling for the removal of China’s hosting rights. Members of the U.S. Congress have also recently proposed that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) “allow cities that respect human rights to host the Winter Olympics instead,” citing China’s oppression of the Uighur people in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Republican Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-Texas) introduced the “American values and Security in International Sporting Events Act” on the 23rd, to prevent China and other human rights abusing countries from improving their image through international events.
According to the bill, if an international event is hosted by a specific communist country, or if the host country is rated as the worst Tier 3 in the State Department’s latest human trafficking report, or if the Secretary of State determines that there are serious human rights concerns, the Secretary of State should send information about the country’s human rights problems no later than 180 days before the event begins.
In addition, the bill would require the Secretary of State to include information on what privacy or security risks players may face and how they can protect themselves from being targeted for intelligence gathering.
The bill was placed on the agenda of the House Foreign Affairs Committee shortly after it was introduced and was considered by the committee on the 25th, along with a number of democracy and human rights-related bills.
McCaul told the committee that China has used the 2008 Beijing Olympics to whitewash its image and now wants to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.
McKow said, “Ensuring that Team USA is properly informed about (China’s) human rights issues and invasive surveillance practices will help protect them from being exploited and will stop the Chinese Communist Party from using the Olympics as a big outreach campaign.”
The bill passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee without objection and will next be sent to the full House for consideration. Under U.S. legislative procedure, the bill must be passed by both the House and Senate before it can be sent to the president for signature and take effect.
In addition, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks (D-CA) led the introduction of two resolutions on the 18th, both of which were passed today. One condemns Beijing and the Hong Kong government for their continued violations of the freedoms and rights of the people of Hong Kong, while the other reaffirms the importance of respecting democracy, human rights and the rule of law to U.S. diplomacy.
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