By Jordis Rosolinsky ‘25
To host the Olympics is one of the greatest honors a country can receive. But do you really believe that a country whose government has detained over 1 million Uyghurs deserves this honor? Since 2014, the Uyghurs, one of China's ethnic minorities, have been tortured, raped, beaten, brainwashed, and imprisoned by the government of China just because they are culturally and ethically different. However, this is not the only issue at hand, as the IOC, also known as the International Olympic Committee, is putting our own athletes in danger due to lack of privacy and consequences of expression.
Multiple countries, such as the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, and Lithuania, have decided to diplomatically boycott the Winter Olympics due to the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang. These countries boycotted by refusing to send government officials to the games. Some lawmakers even went to the extent of calling for the removal of the Olympic games in China if they don't stop persecuting Uyghurs.
While most would assume that the main form of boycotting would be seen in athletes, it's not that simple. China has warned foreign athletes of possible punishment for any free speech against the Olympics. Human rights activist Yaqiu Wang voices concerns about these “punishments” as “Chinese laws are very vague on the crimes they can use to prosecute people’s free speech.” This has been demonstrated before as tennis star Peng Shui was allegedly assaulted by a former Beijing official after sharing her public views. More recently Shui was invited to an interview to express her experiences as a Chinese athlete, through this she explained that she never disappeared and the allegations are false despite her prior social media post. One can only assume that she is not truly able to speak freely as there was a Chinese Olympic official present with her at the interview.
Many sponsors have been encouraged to withdraw sponsorship including Airbnb and Coca-Cola. Sadly, out of thirteen companies that were asked by The Washington Post, eleven refused to comment on their withdrawal.
Not only has safety been compromised, but privacy has been as well. The U.S. has urged athletes and reporters to leave their cell phones at home and use burner phones instead. This recommendation was announced after concerns regarding possible spying arose. The Verge explains that it has been found that the app required by China for all attendees is full of “security holes that could lead to privacy breaches and hacking.”
One may argue that due to the presence of the Olympics in China these social issues were made known when otherwise they would have been ignored.
With the Winter Olympics now over, one can only imagine the information that may surface within the following weeks to come. One might even wonder the importance of human rights after the games continued with little to no disruption while multiple innocent Muslims continue to be abused.
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