As the Tokyo Olympics come to a close, the Beijing Winter Games are next on the horizon. The United States, and all other countries who pride themselves on upholding human rights, should not participate.
The 2022 Winter Olympics will take place amid China’s genocide of the Uyghurs, a campaign of forced labor, mass sterilization, and reeducation camps. It comes as China continually threatens to invade Taiwan and just years after the country did exactly that to Hong Kong, both of whom just competed in Tokyo.
The U.S. should have already made its stance clear by telling the International Olympic Committee to move the Games somewhere else or watch as the U.S. took a coalition of other countries and walked away. Even in the remaining six months before the Olympics is set to begin, the U.S. should be able to orchestrate a sort of “alternate Olympic Games” easily with its bevy of sports facilities and cultural might.
But that would require getting sponsors and broadcast partners in line. With its broadcast deal with the Olympics, NBC angered Chinese state media by pointing out China’s human rights record. It’s good enough for Olympic coverage in Tokyo, but a one-off reflection on China’s treatment of the Uyghurs isn’t going to cut it for a 17-day spectacle in Beijing.
The sponsor question, in particular, is a problem. Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Intel, Procter & Gamble, and Visa Inc were all questioned by members of Congress on whether the 2022 Games should be moved from China. Each of the companies are corporate sponsors for the Games, and representatives from all five dodged the question.
Taking part in the Beijing Olympics, which will be a prime propaganda opportunity for the Chinese Communist Party, gives the appearance of accepting the genocidal regime on the global stage. Winning more medals than China wouldn’t change that, especially given China is mostly a nonfactor in the Winter Games, anyway.
There is no reason China should be rewarded with the presence of the U.S. and other like-minded countries at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Going along with this only guarantees China and other authoritarian countries will continue to be rewarded with hosting gigs, as the International Olympic Committee will continue to place its greed above human rights unless a boycott establishes the consequences of that thinking.
