The failure of the International Olympic Committee to select host countries that aren’t running concentration camps has left the free world with the decision of whether to boycott the 2022 Beijing Olympics. In case there is any question about whether attending will embolden China, they are already making another Olympic bid.
The Chinese cities of Chengdu and Chongqing are preparing a joint bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics. Chengdu has hopes of making itself a major global sports city, having already hosted a bevy of smaller global sports competitions.
The Chinese Olympic Committee would have to approve the joint bid by the two cities, but it’s clear that the IOC’s willingness to roll over for tyrants is going to embolden countries such as China to continue to make plays for global sports competitions. The same is true of Qatar, who is also making a 2032 Olympic bid on the back of being awarded the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Like with China’s human rights abuses, Qatar is emboldened to bid despite having built their soccer stadiums with slave labor.
There’s no reason for China to think they couldn’t host another Olympics so soon. The IOC has given them the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2014 Youth Summer Olympics, and the 2022 Winter games, all while ignoring their human rights abuses and begging other countries to do the same.
China’s global belligerence has seen them feuding with Australia and Canada. American and British politicians have floated the idea of a boycott. Much like with the World Health Organization, China knows they won’t get any real pushback from global institutions such as the IOC. The United States should lead on this issue and commit not to legitimize China as a global sports host nation.
China was emboldened once when they were given the 2008 games, as some world leaders could only meekly boycott the opening ceremonies due to China’s occupation of Tibet. Now that China is cracking down on Hong Kong and currently carrying out a genocide against the Uighurs, there is no excuse for the United States to participate.
Countries such as Qatar and Russia can’t be allowed to lay claim to global sports competitions that normalize their human rights abuses. That is especially true of China. Joe Biden should lead the way on this as the incoming president. After all, if Chinese dictator Xi Jinping really is a “thug,” Biden should want no part of further legitimizing his regime.
