It is not just a moral failure that the United States will participate in the Beijing Olympic Games. Our refusal to boycott because it would be inconvenient means we are leaving the safety and well-being of our athletes in the hands of the Chinese government.
We know the risks. Team USA is warning athletes against taking their personal phones to Beijing and encouraging them to bring burner phones instead due to concerns of digital surveillance by the Chinese government. Canada and the Netherlands have also recognized this concern. China’s authoritarianism is not lost on anyone, and we understand it will extend to our athletes, who will be in the country for over a month.
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