Axios, a U.S. online media site, reported Tuesday (April 6) that Chinese company Hengyuanxiang, which supplies uniforms to the International Olympic Committee (ICO), is suspected of sourcing Xinjiang cotton. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it would be terrible to imagine U.S. athletes being forced to wear Olympic uniforms made by genocided Chinese slave labor.
Axios reports that the IOC signed a contract with Hengyuanxiang back in September 2019 to supply uniforms for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, including apparel for IOC members at ceremonial events.
Hengyuanxiang has close ties with the Chinese Olympic Committee, having sponsored the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
From the Chinese e-commerce brand Taobao, Jingdong HengYuanXiang store to sell the goods, many are “Xinjiang cotton” for the sign. According to its official website, Hengyuanxiang also has a factory located in Xinjiang.
Penelope Kyritsis, director of strategic research at the Worker Rights Consortium, which focuses on labor rights, criticized The IOC has turned a blind eye to the Xinjiang issue, arguing that it should not be working with Xinjiang companies and that it is “morally reprehensible to work with a company that not only procures resources from the Uighur region, but even advertises its products as a selling point.
A spokesman for the IOC said Hengyuanxiang had submitted a certificate of cotton origin to the IOC, showing that the cotton used in the IOC uniforms did not come from China. However, he did not describe the organization from which Hengyuanxiang provided the certificate and whether the certificate was credible.
The spokesman also said that it is important to remain neutral on political issues, and that although it is committed to defending human rights, it has no right or power to change the laws or political systems of sovereign countries.
In recent years, there have been numerous reports and studies showing that the Chinese Communist Party has been holding Uighurs in mass detention in Xinjiang, subjecting them to brainwashing and forced labor, and that “Xinjiang cotton,” also known as blood cotton, is produced by the forced labor of the Uighurs.
Swedish fashion brand H&M’s statement last October that it would no longer buy cotton from Xinjiang was recently revived by the Communist Youth League, an organization owned by the Communist Party of China, and led to a boycott by the official media. More foreign brands including Nike, Adidas have become boycott targets, while China and Hong Kong showbiz stars to terminate endorsements, all kinds of Chinese domestic brands to take a stand and support Xinjiang cotton, Hengyuanxiang is also one of them.
Pompeo: forcing U.S. athletes to wear slave labor Olympic uniforms
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted, citing an Axios report and writing, “Imagine forcing American athletes to wear Olympic uniforms made by genocidal Chinese slave labor?”
“This is worse than President Biden’s Jim Eagle (Biden earlier publicly alleged that Republicans supported segregationist policies and deliberately called the black discrimination law Jim Crow, which Pompeo quotes here with mockery).” He wrote.
“If a U.S. Olympian complains (about this), he or she will be arrested and could end up in a Chinese prison under the Communist Party’s national security laws. This is just the beginning. …….” Pompeo added.
Scott: Olympic Committee Not Allowed to Turn Blind Eye to Genocide
Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida federal Republican, issued a statement saying the Olympic Committee will not be allowed to turn a blind eye to the Chinese Communist Party’s genocide.
He said he saw the Axios story just hours after he publicly called on President Biden to lead the international effort to move the 2022 Olympics to the United States.
Scott said, “For more than a year, I have been calling on the International Olympic Committee to stand up to the Chinese Communist Party’s genocide of the Uighur people and find a new host for the 2022 Olympics.”
“(But) not only are they turning a blind eye to human rights, they are supporting General Secretary Xi’s genocidal campaign by signing up with a Chinese company that may use Uyghurs for forced labor. This is a new moral low for the IOC and is reprehensible.” He wrote. “Every freedom-loving nation must stand up and condemn the IOC for supporting the Chinese Communist Party’s abuses and demand that the 2022 Olympics be moved to a country that respects human rights.”
Scott said the Chinese Communist Party cannot be allowed an international platform to whitewash their crimes.
“The United States is fully capable of hosting the Olympics, and I expect President Biden to do everything possible to move the Olympics out of Beijing.” He said.
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