2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Boycott and Controversy over Olympic Torch Lighting
By: Sarah G
Amidst the human rights violations occurring in China, the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia have joined together in preventing government officials from attending the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The “diplomatic boycott” is a response, protesting China’s harsh treatment of its citizens (TIME).
Uighurs, also known as Uyghurs, are a primarily Muslim minority and a Turkish-speaking ethnic group. A large population of Uighurs resides in the Xinjiang Region. The Chinese government is dehumanizing the Uighurs, placing them in harsh detention camps the government labels as “reeducation camps” or “vocational training centers” (CFR). The Chinese government is torturing the Uighurs and suppressing their religion, a prominent factor for the Olympic boycott.
Due to China’s human rights violations, including those against Uighurs, countries have united to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics. The athletes from the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia will continue to compete but the government officials are restrained from attending. In addition, “Japan said it will also withhold high-level government officials” (TIME). Boycotts such as this shine a spotlight on the issue as it is a major world event, raising awareness. This boycott has the aim of sending a message to China, but as a TIME’s article mentions, people have conflicting opinions of how China will respond. Some people think the boycott will require China to address the situation, while others believe the boycott will make little or no impact. For example, in an NPR interview, Mike Mazza, a fellow in foreign and defense policy at the American Enterprise Institute, believes that the boycott is more of a way for the U.S. to show their concern and upset with how China is treating its citizens. Mazza does not believe the Olympic boycott will have a vital effect. China negatively responded to the withholding of government officials, responding with a threat that the countries who participated in the boycott would “pay a price for their erroneous actions” (TIME). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) aims to keep politics and sports separate, or as separate as possible, but the Olympic boycott makes that quite difficult. The IOC has successfully remained politically neutral thus far as a part of the Olympic Charter, a set of rules and guidelines regarding the Olympics and the Olympic Movement, reflects that “one of the Olympic movement’s goals is ‘to protect its independence, to maintain and promote its political neutrality and to preserve the autonomy of the sport’” (ESPN).
The opening ceremony at the Olympics presents the lighting of the Olympic cauldron by the Olympic torch’s flame. The burning of a flame is a long-time tradition that dates back to the ancient Games in Greece. China claims to have chosen an Olympic athlete with “Uyghur roots to help light the Olympic torch” (Insider). Along with Zhao Jiwen, a skier from China’s Han majority, Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a cross country skier said to be a Uighur was chosen to light the torch. China’s choice to select Yilamujiang to play a critical role in lighting the Olympic torch has been met with varying responses and has made a “major political statement” (NPR). Choosing a Uighur athlete deflects “claims that it, [China], is guilty of genocide” of the Uighurs (Daily Mail). China has been reluctant to admit its human rights violations against Uighurs. Choosing Yilamujiang is an attempt to show China’s appreciation for the people of the Uighur community. The torch lighting can be seen as a rebuke against the U.S. and other countries participating in the Olympic boycott who have brought awareness to China’s human rights violations, including those against Uighurs.
In a move against China’s human rights abuses, dehumanizing treatment, and ruthless torturing of Uighurs and others in China, several countries, including the U.S., have joined together to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. As the Olympics progress, only time will tell if this Olympic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics will make an impact, causing China to address the situation.
To learn more about the Uighurs and their harsh treatment, check out this article: https://medium.com/the-weekly-hoot/uighurs-fight-for-freedom-to-overcome-chinas-oppression-9602ebdffc95 or this article https://medium.com/the-weekly-hoot/the-sad-reality-of-china-ea69d862633f.
Works Cited
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De Guzman, Chad. “How the U.S. Boycott of the Beijing Olympics Is Splitting the World.” TIME, Time USA, LLC, 16 Dec. 2021, time.com/6129154/beijing-olympics-boycott/. Accessed 14 Feb. 2022.
Epstein, Jake. “Facing accusations of genocide, China says it chose a Uyghur athlete to help light the Olympic torch.” Insider, 4 Feb. 2022, www.insider.com/china-chooses-uyghur-athlete-to-light-olympic-torch-genocide-accusations-2022-2. Accessed 14 Feb. 2022.
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Hamilton, Tom. “What, exactly, is a ‘diplomatic boycott’ of the Beijing Olympics?” ESPN, ESPN Enterprises, 10 Dec. 2021, www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/32831100/what-exactly-diplomatic-boycott-beijing-olympics. Accessed 14 Feb. 2022.
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Matthews, Chris, et al. “China chooses a Uyghur athlete to light flame at Winter Olympics opening ceremony in propaganda attempt to deflect accusations of genocide.” Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers, 4 Feb. 2022, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10477731/China-chooses-Uyghur-athlete-light-flame-Winter-Olympics-bid-deflect-genocide-accusations.html. Accessed 14 Feb. 2022.
Mazza, Mike. “President Biden announces a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.” Interview by Debbie Elliott. NPR, www.npr.org/2021/12/07/1062016949/president-biden-announces-a-diplomatic-boycott-of-the-being-winter-olympics. Accessed 14 Feb. 2022.
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