Politicising the ‘apolitical’ Winter Olympics
Earlier last year, the Biden Administration announced that it was blocking the import of certain materials that are used in solar panels from a company in Xinjiang over false allegations of forced labour.
The Xinjiang region is a major production hub for many companies that supply the world with parts needed to build solar panels.
Clearly this diplomatic boycott initiated by the United States is a political manipulation. The US is playing a negative role in politicizing sports, creating divisions and provoking confrontations.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington tweeted that politicians calling for a boycott are “doing so for their own political interests and posturing.” “In fact, no one would care about whether these people come or not, and it has no impact whatsoever on the #Beijing2022 to be successfully held,” the embassy said.
China’s Mission to the United Nations called the boycott a “self-directed political farce.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has accepted the invitation to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics depicting support and neutrality, ignoring Olympic boycott.
China’s Ambassador to Pakistan has said his country appreciates Pakistan for being against the “politicization” of sports after Islamabad’s comment that the Beijing Winter Olympics would offer “a spectacular and colourful gala to sports enthusiasts around the world.
The Olympic Games symbolize sportsmanship, team spirit, unity, effort, struggle, and maintaining grace in competition whatever the results are.”
In response, China’s Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Pong on Sunday said that his nation appreciates Pakistan for being against the “politicization” of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Western anti-China politicians have shown a defensive Cold War mentality aimed at politicising the sports. This is a clear violation of the Olympic spirit and a challenge to all people who love the Olympic Movement.
It has also been clarified that the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is not a stage for “Grandstanding of Politicians.”
China is ready to deliver a streamlined, safe and splendid Olympics to the world! France defied other member nations, announcing that it will send high-level officials to this winter’s Beijing Olympics. Over recent months, China’s government has been in overdrive to combat allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has dismissed the charges of genocide as “the most preposterous lie of the century, an outrageous insult and affront to the Chinese people, and a gross breach of international law and basic norms governing international relations.”
It’s easy to write this off as propaganda! There are no abuses, much less a genocide; the people – whether Han, Uyghur, or other ethnic groups – are happy, prosperous and grateful to the Chinese Communist Party. Xinjiang is not as dark as the West governments say. People’s life is getting better and better. Ordinary Xinjiang people are very supportive of such efforts.
The government is helping their economy and trying to lift them out of poverty. China has been mobilizing all parts of the country to support Xinjiang in the past few years.
Almost every city needs to support a county or a region in Xinjiang. Westerners might feel that the Xinjiang issue will cause more divisions in China, but in fact it has united the majority of people in China.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly shown support for the Chinese government regarding its policies in Muslim-majority Xinjiang province, also praising the country’s one-party system as offering a better model for societies compared with electoral democracy.
The pain-point of the “diplomatic boycott” seems to be the undeniable achievements of the Communist Party of China; they have actually beaten all Western democracies in the way they have brought up merit in their society.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Lahore.
