International General: International: News: Hankyoreh Mobile

The US Olympic and Paralympic Games Committee (USOPC) said on the 7th (local time) that “American athletes should not be used as political pacifiers.” He expressed a strong disapproval. Suzanne Ryans, chairman of the committee, spoke about the Beijing Winter Olympics at a press event about the Tokyo Summer Olympics starting in July and said, “I think we will see a lot of debates on the subject of boycotts. I want to point out that again.” He said, “Our U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committees are against boycotting players. “Because it has had a negative impact on the players in the past without effectively dealing with international issues.” “We certainly don’t want to reduce the serious human rights issues in China in any way,” said Ryans. “But the United States has a lot of means to respond constructively to these concerns.” “Our players’ only dream is to represent the United States and what we support on the international arena. We believe that the young players of Team USA will be used as political pawns in these matters,” he said. I believe I can’t.” Chairman Ryans’ remarks are a rebuttal to State Department spokesman Ned Price’s response to a press briefing the day before. When asked if they would jointly boycott the allies and the Beijing Winter Olympics, Price said, referring to China’s oppression of human rights and the genocide of the Xinjiang Uighurs. . However, after the remarks were reported, a high-ranking official of the State Department began to evolve, saying, “There has been no discussion of a joint boycott of the Olympics with allies and friends.” The White House also drew a line on the boycott. Spokesman Jen Saki said at a briefing on the 7th, “Is it the policy of the United States that American athletes participate in the Beijing Olympics?” “Our position on the 2022 Olympics has not changed.” “We haven’t discussed or are doing a joint boycott,” he said. At a briefing on February 25, Saki said, “There is no final decision” as to whether or not to participate in the Beijing Olympics, resulting in an interpretation of the possibility of a boycott. Republicans and human rights groups, including former U.S. Ambassador Nicky Haley, raised their voices this year for the Beijing Olympic boycott for human rights violations in China. But last month, Chairman Thomas Bach of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) criticized the boycott claim, pointing to the precedent that the United States led the Moscow Olympic boycott after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1980. He said, “People have to learn from history. The Olympic boycott did nothing.” Chinese authorities are also criticizing the talk of the Olympic group boycott as politicizing sports. Correspondent for Washington/Hwang Jun-beom [email protected]