There’s a strong and growing stronger opinion that China should be stripped of the 2022 Olympic games - here’s why...
“If an ongoing genocide is not reason enough to relocate a sporting event, then my question is, what is?”
This was the pivotal question asked at a virtual conference by Annamie Paul, the leader of the Canadian Green Party. Addressing the International Olympics Committee, her goal was to shed a light on the controversial happenings in China and, in doing so, encourage Canada to offer to play a role in relocating the 2022 Winter Olympic games from Beijing.
Her proposal was that in light of the ostensibly constant human rights violations from China, Canada should offer to co-host the games with the USA, given that they both have the infrastructure and experience to get the job done.
Not sure what all the fuss is about? Well, let’s start from the beginning…
What’s happening in China?
To try and sum it up, over the past few years the Chinese government has come under heavy fire from over 150 human rights organisations and international governments, for serious human rights violations against its people.Â
These violations stretch from suppression and widespread discrimination of the LGBTI community - something China admitted to and claimed to have corrected, but no actual law has been passed that prohibits discrimination against the LGBTI community - to the intrusive surveillance, arbitrary detention and forced indoctrination of the Muslim ethnic group in the Xinjiang region.
The Chinese government denies most of the allegations, but the evidence is starting to add up - and it seems like the situation is coming to the boil.Â
Is this really happening?
Those of you clued in on the news may have seen on the news channels various surveillance videos captured on Chinese territory - these videos have seemingly included many controversial activities, including one which seemed to show Chinese military forces loading Uighur natives onto a packed train.
In October 2020, a Canadian parliamentary subcommittee concluded that China’s actions amounted to genocide, so although the Chinese government staunchly denies much of the accusations held against it, the rest of the world is taking it very seriously and believes that the situation in the further Chinese territories has stretched beyond a political squabble and into actual organised discrimination.Â
What does it all mean?
Well, it means a lot of things, but in relation to Paul’s speech to the International Olympics Committee, the Canadian higher ups are taking serious steps towards tabling a motion to relocate the 2022 games - whether that relocation ends up in Canada (and the USA) or elsewhere.
The proposal was always for Canada to co-host the games with the USA - given the vast history both nations have with staging both summer and winter Olympic Games - which would make it the fifth time the games have been held in the US.Â
And it’s a serious claim they have - half a dozen Canadian politicians have recently likened the possible 2022 China Olympics to the 1936 games that were held in Nazi Germany, since been dubbed The Games of Shame. Their argument is that we should avoid another of these situations - where in hindsight, we all look back and can’t believe our athletes competed for medals while innocent people were suffering.
Paul added, on the topic: "China has proven itself to be incredibly resistant to liberalization of human rights and fundamental freedoms. There is no reason to credibly believe that the celebration of the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, alongside a genocide, will produce any such results."
