Politicization of Winter Games runs counter to Olympic spirit: China Daily editorial

According to reports, some human rights groups recently sent an open letter to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, asking that the 2022 Winter Olympic Games be removed from China, citing "the widespread and systematic human rights violations being committed by the Chinese authorities".

The attempt to politicize the sporting event for the purpose of shaming and blaming China on human rights issues is nothing new. Many politicians are already engaged in such stunts now that preparations for the Beijing Games are well underway, with all the competition venues and related infrastructure due to be completed by the end of this year. For example, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that the United Kingdom could boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics; and Australian Senator Rex Patrick has openly called for Australian athletes to shun the Games.

But having failed to produce any evidence to substantiate their allegations, the cacophony of the anti-China chorus sung by a few human rights groups and politicians has so far been largely ignored by the international community.

The mixing of sports and politics goes against the trend of the times and tramples on the Olympic spirit that promotes mutual understanding, solidarity and fair play. Not to mention the fact that "the IOC has neither the mandate nor the capability to change the laws or the political system of a sovereign country".

Perhaps no one better understands the harms caused by a boycott to the Olympics than the IOC chief himself, who experienced that of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games following the invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet troops. As the chair of the West German athletes' commission then, Bach strongly opposed the boycott because he believed it "not only punished the wrong ones, but that it also had no political effect whatsoever". In fact, the 1980 boycott, which he described as "a very humiliating experience", only triggered the revenge boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

The call for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics is especially deplorable given how painstakingly China has been working to prepare for the event in the face of the onslaught of the novel coronavirus pandemic, with progress made in not only venue construction, but also global recruitment of volunteers and the appeals for medal, torch and apparel designs.

This has prompted IOC Coordination Commission Chair Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. to give a thumbs-up to China, saying "Beijing 2022 has continued to meet key milestones, a true testament to their determination to provide the perfect stage for the world's top winter athletes in just under two years' time".

The Olympic Games are not about politics, but about bringing together the world's best athletes from all members of the IOC family in a peaceful sporting competition and helping them realize their Olympic dreams. Any efforts to try to dash that dream using whatever excuse is ill-intentioned, and must be rejected and condemned.