Protesting Winter Olympics athletes may ‘face punishment’

In answer to a question regarding the prospect of athlete protests at next month’s Winter Olympics Games, a Beijing 2022 official said that any athlete behaviour that goes against the Olympic spirit or Chinese rules or laws will face “certain punishment.” China would not hesitate to act, according to Yang Shu, deputy director-general of the Beijing 2022 foreign relations department.

“Any expression that is in line with the Olympic spirit I’m sure will be protected. And anything and any behaviour or speeches that are against the Olympic spirit, especially against Chinese laws and regulations, are also subject to certain punishment,” said Mr Yang. If rules are broken, he said, accreditation would most likely be revoked. On Wednesday, the deputy director-general spoke at a reception hosted by China’s embassy in Washington. Speakers at a lecture cautioned athletes travelling to China not to speak about human rights for their own safety.

Winter Olympics in Beijing begin on February 4th

Acts of protest at the Games are generally against the rules imposed by the International Olympic Committee. They had urged competitors not to protest at the Tokyo Summer Games or risk being sanctioned. The Olympic Charter, rule 50 says, “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permissible in any Olympic sites”.

However, there are growing concerns in China about the growing intolerance of protest, dissent, and criticism. Activists and attorneys for human rights have been put behind bars in large numbers. Peng‘s abduction, according to Yaqui Wang, an organisation researcher in China, was “a good indicator of what may possibly happen” if athletes spoke out. “Chinese laws are very vague on the crimes that can be used to prosecute people’s free speech,” she said. “There are all kinds of crimes. That can have peaceful solutions, critical comments and in China, the conviction rate is 99%.”

The Winter Olympics in Beijing begins on February 4th. However, they are in controversy. Due to fears about significant human rights violations by the Xi Jinping-led regime. Particularly against the Uyghur community. However, the United States has led the charge, calling China’s acts against minorities “genocide,” a charge Beijing denies. They were the first country to launch a diplomatic boycott of the games in November of last year. Followed by the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia, all citing human rights concerns.

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