Some groups alleging human rights violations against ethnic minorities in China are calling for a full boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The move could put more pressure on the International Olympic Committee, athletes, sponsors and sports federations.
A coalition representing Uighurs, Tibetans, Hong Kong residents and others issued a statement Monday (May 17) calling for a full boycott of the games, rather than a semi-boycott like a “diplomatic boycott” or further negotiations with the IOC or China.
“The time for dialogue with the IOC is over,” said Lhadon Tethong of the Tibetan Action Institute in an exclusive interview with the Associated Press. “It can’t be business as usual for the Games or business as usual; not for the International Olympic Committee, not for the international community.”
The Beijing Games will open on Feb. 4, 2022, just six months before the end of the postponed Summer Games in Tokyo.
Human rights groups met with the IOC several times last year to demand that the Winter Games be canceled in China. Zumreay Arkin of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) was a key member of those talks.
Lajen Zhitong herself was detained and expelled from China in 2007 – a year before the Beijing Summer Olympics – for leading a pro-Tibet movement.
She mentioned that the International Olympic Committee had said that the 2008 Games would improve the human rights situation in China. “The situation we’re in now is significantly worse than it was then,” she said. “If this Olympics goes ahead as planned, then what Beijing is doing now will be recognized by the international community.”
“There has been an effort to engage sincerely with the IOC so that they can understand these issues directly from those who are most affected – the Uighurs are at the top of that list, along with Tibetans and some others,” said Lajen Zhitong. “It’s clear that the IOC is not at all interested in what real impact these issues have on people.”
The IOC has repeatedly said it must remain “neutral” and stay out of politics. The Swiss-based body is essentially in the sports business, with 75 percent of its revenue coming from broadcast rights sales and 18 percent from sponsors. It also has observer status at the United Nations.
“We are not a super world government,” IOC President Thomas Bach said recently.
China’s foreign ministry criticized the boycott calls as “politicizing sports” and said any boycott was “doomed to fail. China denies genocide against the Uighur people.
A recent U.S. State Department human rights report made clear that “genocide and crimes against humanity” have been committed against the Muslim Uighur and other minorities in the past year in Xinjiang.
The activists’ push for a full boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics comes on the heels of a joint U.S. Congressional hearing on the Beijing Olympics and China’s human rights record.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committees argued that boycotting the Games would be ineffective and would only hurt the athletes.
Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said in a letter to members of Congress last Wednesday (May 12) that the committee is also “troubled by the situation in China,” but that athletes should not be allowed to boycott the Games and that historical boycotts have not been successful. The boycott has not worked well in the past.
In the letter, she said, “A new generation of Winter Olympic and Paralympic athletes is preparing hard to represent the United States at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Please give them this opportunity.”
Some politicians have floated the idea of a “diplomatic boycott” or “commercial boycott” of the Beijing Winter Olympics, meaning that athletes would be allowed to compete but government officials or sponsors would be called upon to boycott the Games.
Rajan Chitung said she knows some athletes may oppose the boycott. But she said others who have gained momentum from the “Black Lives Matter” movement could become allies. This is a time to really take action, she said.
“There are obviously a lot of people who care about athletes and their life’s work,” Lajean said. “But ultimately it’s the IOC that put them in this position and the IOC should be held accountable.”
Mikaela Shiffrin, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and U.S. skier, recently spoke out about the plight athletes face in an interview with CNN.
She said, “You certainly don’t want to be put in a situation where you have to choose between a human right like ethics and being able to do your job.”
Lajeunesse suggested that coalition members lobby the IOC’s 15 largest sponsors, NBC television, sports federations, civil society groups and “anyone who will listen.
The 150 human rights groups sent a letter to Airbnb, one of the IOC’s big sponsors, on March 23, asking it to withdraw its sponsorship of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
“The first issue is ethics,” said Lajean Zhitong. “Is it OK to host an international goodwill sporting event like the Olympics while the host country is committing genocide outside the stands?”
During the meeting with the IOC, activists said they demanded to see documentation of China’s “assurances” on the human rights situation. They said the IOC did not provide those documents.
A few years ago, the IOC included human rights requirements in its contract for the host city of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, but it did not include the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in its contract with Beijing. The Paris Games are the first Olympics to include these standards, and human rights groups have been pushing for them.
Last week, human rights groups and Western countries led by the United States, Britain and Germany accused China of committing massive crimes against the Uighur minority and demanded unhindered access for U.N. experts.
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