beijing 2022 winter olympics

Another Beijing Olympics with human rights still a major issue

37 Comments
By STEPHEN WADE

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And people shouldn’t be silent, or silenced, about these things.

If you can’t speak out against genocide, then what’s the point of anything?

16 ( +20 / -4 )

Rights groups have documented forced labor, mass detentions and torture, and the U.S. has called China’s internment of at least 1 million Uyghurs genocide. China has also come under criticism over the near-disappearance from public view of tennis star Peng Shuai after she accused a former senior member of the ruling Communist Party of sexually assaulting her.

And people shouldn’t be silent about these things. There is literally a genocide going on and China should be put under huge international pressure about it.

The term ‘sports washing’ has become popular these days as countries try and hide all their dirty laundry behind various sporting fronts. The rest of the world needs to speak up loudly about these kinds of issues - no matter what countries are involved.

12 ( +18 / -6 )

Let’s not forget about that whole pandemic China unleashed on the world and hasn’t even offered an apology. Instead they just criticized every country that their response wasn’t as good as china’s.

Not many redeeming things coming out of china these days.

9 ( +15 / -6 )

If the democracies of the world really want to get tough on China, they need to stop trading with it. Boycotting an Olympic games is pathetic and won't make any difference.

7 ( +12 / -5 )

“Much as the world would like the Olympics to be devoid of politics, as George Orwell once wrote: ‘Sport is war minus the shooting.’”

Brilliant quote, still spot on many decades later.

This farce of an event will be pure politics and Communist propaganda.

Those taking part, watching and sponsoring the sick circus are tacitly supporting China and their regime of genocide (worst since WW2) and human rights abuses. They have no shame.

6 ( +11 / -5 )

Wall Street is a major player in the US government. So long as the US banks are in China, nothing will be done. GM sells more cars in China than any other country. That is just one manufacturer. Corporate US can’t be expected to withdraw from China over “alleged” abuse.

The point is moot anyway because they continue to invest in China regardless of the genocide, alleged or not.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

By all accounts

Can you possibly list some of those accounts?

show me any real evidence of any of these allegations 

Especially after writing the above? Can you provide any r****eal evidence?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

China is Such an awful country…

3 ( +11 / -8 )

From the morning to the evening I am watching the Japanese media bragging about how many gold medals is Japan supposed to win.

Can you guys make up your mind where you stand on this Olympics?

It is tiring to see that you are with it and against it.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Just look at what they made people of Xinjiang wear. They can't even show any smiles. It's disgraceful they're forced into this sort of situation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCMgZnNjnL0

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Good to see the demonstration going on outside the Chinese embassy in Jakarta

Isn't Aceh nearby?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Where’s Peng Shuai??

1 ( +3 / -2 )

The IOC and the world at large has brought this onto themselves. Everything it seems does have a price.

It’s taken two generations for a replay of the 1936 games. Our grandparents had to witness the same cringeworthy spectacle after the west played similar games of appeasement.

What is it they say?

History doesn’t repeat, per sei, but it certainly doesn’t rhyme.

Unfortunately for China their glorious moment has not worked at all. Right at the time when the world wakes up to their doublespeak they now have to try and sell an already dead message. Just hope it doesn’t lead to escalating conflict and a possible war.

Good luck to the athletes. Watch your back, and your DNA!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

In support of the activists in Jakarta demonstrating against China, Further to my post above, which attracted 3 down-votes straightaway, here's the rap-sheet for China which indicates why this vile and vicious regime should not be allowed to host these Games:

China gave the world Coronavirus which has so far killed more than 5.5 million people and infected over 2.8 billion people.

They've committed genocide against more than 1 million of their own Uighur people who are imprisoned in concentration-camps, which include the forced irreversible sterilisation of hundreds of thousands of women.

They've removed all vestiges of democratic freedoms previously enjoyed by millions of people in Hong Kong.

They've forcibly removed over 900,000 Tibetan children aged from just 3 to 16 from their parents homes and imprisoned them in "boarding-schools" where their Tibetan culture and identity is to be removed and eradicated.

They have 11 separate international disputes ongoing throughout the South-Eastern Asian region, most notably their stated intention to invade Taiwan and take it into Chinese control, which is state-terrorism.

The Chinese people are treated in a cruel and repressed way, total eavesdropping and surveillance the norm in every city, town, village and commune, with any critical comments passed straight to the CCP officers, which number 93 million.

These are just the basic facts of why this evil pariah state must be made to face up to its horrendous uncivilised actions, by worldwide demonstrations of liberal-minded people who try to make a difference - change will only come about when the vast majority of people make their voices heard.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

This is WRONG on every level.

You cannot believe a single thing Chinese officials say.

A change of names from Olympic Games to the Olympic Threats & Intimidation Games.

Where is the Chinese Tennis Star????

Wear T-Shirts with this on at the Opening Gig.

Good Luck.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

*Call it like you see it***! **Fighto! 5:36pm Don’t let them reigned you in like this morning from expressing how You’ve been calling it. We’ll support you!!

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Can you possibly list some of those accounts?

Sure! Glad to, human rights journal about the extra exam privileges that non-Han Chinese receive.

https://asiapacific.gchumanrights.org/2020/02/24/privilege-policy-ethnic-minority-students-china-not-reverse-discrimination/

This one is about minority language instruction and Article 4 (that allows for all minorities to get education in their indigenous language)

https://case.edu/affil/tibet/moreTibetInfo/documents/bilingualeduforChinaMinority.pdf

I think the fact that they weren’t subject to any child birth restrictions is common knowledge, but I can pull a citation if you really want it. I don’t want to slam the comments section up too much.

So I’m waiting for any evidence of the allegations now.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

“Beijing was awarded the 2008 Summer Olympics, largely under the assumption that the Games would improve civil liberties in the country.” No, the IOC awards the Olympics to either countries that are stupid enough to drown themselves in debt (eg Greece) or where they can make a killing (China) that’s it!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Why is the world supporting these vile games?

At least I am not!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@quercetum

You nailed it, as usual. It is political saber rattling and grandstanding. Gives the masses an external threat to rally against.

No business (including the government) is going to stop doing business with the biggest market in the world over alleged abuses.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

This isn't a real genocide beyond textual definitions. They CHOOSE to circumnavigate the strict Chinese rules against religious beliefs that apply to ALL Chinese people regardless of ethnicity, and all people of theological beliefs are treated the same way.

Qatar discriminates against the groups who do NOT have choice - slaves, women and LGBTQ - and this applies to all the foreign tourists and workers who end up there as well.

And for those who want a "Muslim" ethnicity group being genocided to champion, what about Yemenis who are currently being killed by Saudi forces (all with weapons from the UK and US)?

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

@PSmith

Apologies if I wasn’t clear.

The links I provided were specifically to the guy asking for proof about minorities receiving any beneficial treatments in China. Since that was what they asked for. I wasn’t making any claim it disproves any human rights abuses, since that burden of proof is on the people making the claim. It’d be like asking an atheist to prove the none existence of every deity.

I’m not sure you really want to use an article that cites Zenz of all people as having any credibility though, especially one that just throws in half a dozen baseless accusations at the end. Surely there is any more concrete evidence? The world’s largest genocide since the holocaust must have at least one irrefutable photo, right?

First-hand accounts v an opinion piece and policy paper from a government that has erased the Tiananmen Square massacre from its history.

Weird event to cite, as that wasn’t even the Chinese govt. American media itself reported in that one.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Denial is the proof 

indeed. china doesnt know what the streisand effect is yet...maybe they'll catch on some day...

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@Wobot

That would actually be a good reason to withdraw, but no country had the wherewithal to do it for Tokyo Olympics, except DPRK.

If they didn't then it would seem really strange to withdraw now.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

i wonder if anyone will have the balls to yell out taiwan! xinjiang! tibet! etc up there live on the podium? what would seriously happen, right in the international spotlight?

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

People, do you have any real proof of what is happening in China or are you just barking the usual US lies because China is on its way to being the world's leading economy ??..

Real proofs instead of whining for everything China does good..

Like it or not, today is the Chinese Games..

GO CHINA !!..

More nonsense anti-China propaganda. China has done an amazing job of raising the living standards of people living in the Muslim area of China. Sad that some countries need to invent "human rights" issues to try to combat China's economic advantage. While ignoring far worse real human rights violations in its allies.

That's right, it's the US childish tantrums struggling not to finish sinking itself..

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Athletes should wear a Tibetan and an East Tajikistan flag if they care. I suspect they are wimps and they won't. I was once planned to compete in China and intended to wear the flag of Tibet and reveal it when I reached the finish line. Sadly the event was cancelled.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Good to see the demonstration going on outside the Chinese embassy in Jakarta - all we need now is a repetition of exactly this outside every other Chinese embassy in every country of the free and democratic world, starting tomorrow..... the opening day, and then every day, of their Charade Games.

It's a shame that worldwide human-rights organisations like Amnesty International or HumanRightsWatch haven't been proactive in organising this worldwide protest - they've had enough time and notice to do so, seems that they're bogged down in politics and ideologies which absorb their attention more somehow.

I'll have to take a look into my subscriptions to them......

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

I feel this parrots a lot of the same lines from an article earlier this week/last week, it uses most of the exact same quotes from the same people. Kind of strange to post it again?

Rights groups have documented forced labor, mass detentions and torture, and the U.S. has called China’s internment of at least 1 million Uyghurs genocide.

And yet again, people don't just get to make extraordinary claims like this without evidence. They haven't documented any of those things. They got some satellite footage of schools and normal prisons, and "cultural" genocide of children being taught in...their native languages. By all accounts, minority groups get more consideration in China than almost any other country I can think of.

I mean, I suppose you could argue the existence of prisons are mass detentions by definition. America is by far the worst human rights offender in the world then though.

Now is an opportunity, show me any real evidence of any of these allegations and I will share it from the rooftops.

-8 ( +5 / -13 )

More nonsense anti-China propaganda. China has done an amazing job of raising the living standards of people living in the Muslim area of China. Sad that some countries need to invent "human rights" issues to try to combat China's economic advantage. While ignoring far worse real human rights violations in its allies.

-10 ( +5 / -15 )

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