When I was younger, my answer to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was always, without a beat of hesitation an Olympic figure skater. So you can only imagine how much I still enjoy binge-watching and replaying Olympic figure skating and ice dancing routines, analysing every turn, jump, wrist flick and outfit choice. However, as controversy surrounding the ethics relating to China hosting the 2022 Winter Olympic Games heightens, I’ve found myself increasingly hesitant to tune in.
Articles about the Olympic Games are littering the media, but not only to report the most recent sporting statistics and predict the world’s novel stellar athletes. Headlines express a range of criticism about the location of the Olympics given recent severe human rights violations in China. The detention, torture, and forced labour committed by Chinese authorities against Uyghurs, Tibetans, and religious believers from independent faiths have dominated media headlines, sparking debate around whether China should maintain the right to host the world’s prime athletes for this year’s Olympic Games.
For months, activists and world leaders have warned against China’s progressively authoritarian behaviour towards its own citizens. Many have criticised the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as well as some advertisers and other countries, who have turned a blind eye to the inhumane behaviour occurring in China and continued to promote the Winter Games across media platforms. Freedom House announced that the IOC “has not met its responsibilities under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.” Additionally, top corporate sponsors of the Games, such as Airbnb, Allianz, Coca-Cola, Intel, and Visa, have been criticised for not disclosing their human rights due diligence strategies or voicing any disapproval of the IOC’s dismissive approach to their social justice responsibilities.
Several nations and teams have indicated their objection to such blatant human rights violations in China. Countries such as the United States, Australia, Japan, Lithuania and Canada, as well as 243 non-governmental organisations, have staged diplomatic boycotts and urged sports teams and sponsors not to legitimise government abuse. Some athletes have also demonstrated their protest and ethical responsibilities by refusing to attend the Opening Ceremonies.
The Chinese government was awarded the 2022 Olympic Games back in 2015, and has spent the past seven years going to massive lengths to prepare Beijing to host one of the largest events in the world. Dried river beds were flooded, water sources were diverted, and farmlands were dominated by new irrigation systems in order to feed one of the most extensive snow-making operations in the history of the Games. These extreme preparations meant it was unlikely that the Olympics would not have carried forward in Beijing, no matter the degree of international protest to the political situation. Therefore, the Chinese government has focused on masking the genocide taking place in the country using the Olympic coverage as a distraction. It is important to be aware that, as viewers of the Olympic Games, we are supporting the companies that rationalise the unjust political situation in China. As the Chinese Human Rights Defenders claim, the more of the world’s gaze falls on sports coverage rather than the consequences of grave human rights abuse, “the harder it is for victims to stand up against discrimination.”
The Olympics are one of the only events that unify the entire world on the common grounds of athletics, dedication, and teamwork. It is upsetting to realise that the country hosting an event based on celebrating international friendship and equality can simultaneously demonstrate such extreme social injustice toward its own citizens. As the 2022 Olympic Games come to a close, I urge any fellow figure skating fans or sports fanatics to be mindful of the political situation in China and your own moral responsibilities before tuning in to the Olympic coverage.