The day of the Beijing Winter Olympics in China… US Congressional Line “Violation of Human Rights in Xinjiang, Need to Withdraw”

Can the Beijing Winter Olympics, which is approaching exactly one year in the future, run smoothly?

The Chinese government is confident of the success. However, human rights issues in China’s Xinjiang region are rapidly emerging as a variable. In the US Senate, a resolution has been proposed that the Beijing Olympics should be rejected due to human rights issues in China.

On the day of the countdown, reports are being followed in China to raise the atmosphere of the Winter Olympics. The Beijing Winter Olympics will be held from February 4th to 20th next year in downtown Beijing, in Yanqing District outside Beijing, and Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province. Xinhua News Agency introduced 12 stadiums and events in 3 regions completed at the end of last year through an article entitled “Ice ribbons flutter and snow dances.”

He said, “The world was engulfed in fog due to the sudden outbreak of (Corona 19), but preparations for the Olympics did not stop,” he said. “More than 1 million volunteers have been recruited, and China and the world will achieve unity through the Olympics.” In a call with Chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach at the end of last month, President Xi Jinping also emphasized that China is creating conditions for the smooth hosting of the Olympics by suppressing Corona 19 and realizing a recovery.

However, the outside situation is not easy. Six Republican Senators, including Congressman Rick Scott, submitted a resolution calling for the withdrawal of the Beijing Olympics. They said, “China slaughtered the Uighurs in Xinjiang, suppressed democracy in Hong Kong, and threatened Taiwan.” They argued that “the 2022 Winter Olympics should be reapplied for so that countries that respect human rights can host them. .

In particular, the issue of human rights suppression in Xinjiang Uyghur is becoming more and more prominent even in China’s repeated denials.

The BBC reported an interview with four Uighur victims who were imprisoned in a Xinjiang detention facility the day before and were sexually assaulted, tortured, and brainwashed. International public opinion is deteriorating due to the testimony of the victims, such as “organized collective sexual assault was carried out” and “they were threatened not to tell the facts of torture”. State Department spokesman Ned Price said, “We are deeply agitated by the reports of organized rape and rape at the Xinjiang camp.” However, regarding the Olympic boycott issue, it is a prudent position that “nothing has been decided.

Human rights organizations also joined. In a statement that day, an alliance of 180 human rights organizations focused on protecting the rights of minority ethnic groups in China urged countries around the world to decide on a boycott of the Beijing Olympics so that the Chinese government’s human rights crackdown and persecution against minority opinions will not intensify. These are groups representing Tibetans, Uyghurs, Neimunggu, and Hong Kong residents.

European countries’ responses are also noted. German Weekly Business Weekly, citing a Western diplomat, reported that “the US Biden government is lobbying European countries to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics.” However, there is a glimpse of temperature differences by country. According to the media, “the reaction is cold in France,” he said. “As the 2024 Summer Olympics will be held in Paris, I am concerned that if I boycott the Beijing Olympics, China will boycott the Paris Olympics.” On the other hand, Britain, which is struggling with China over the Hong Kong issue, is pushing for a plan to impose trade sanctions on countries participating in’Genocide’ (race cleansing) in parliament. The European Union raised the issue of height at a summit meeting with President Xi in September last year, and China made it clear that it is “opposing internal intervention”.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Won-bin also strongly criticized the boycott movement the day before, saying, “An attempt to impede the holding of the Olympics with political motives will be irresponsible and will not gain international support. During the 1980 Moscow Olympics, 45 countries including the United States, Canada, West Germany, and South Korea were absent from protesting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In the following LA Olympics in 1984, 15 countries in Eastern Europe such as the Soviet Union and East Germany were absent, making it a half-sized Olympics.

Beijing = correspondent Park Seong-hun [email protected]