Olympic officials and business leaders protest that the Games are nonpolitical, but that is disingenuous. Of course they’re political. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, is hosting the Olympics for political reasons, to garner international legitimacy even as he eviscerates Hong Kong freedoms, jails lawyers and journalists, seizes Canadian hostages, threatens Taiwan and, most horrifying, presides over crimes against humanity in the far western region of Xinjiang that is home to several Muslim minorities.
torsdag 8. april 2021
Nicholas Kristof: Here’s How to Handle the ‘Genocide Olympics’ in Beijing
Should the United States and other democracies participate in a Winter Olympics hosted by a government that both the Trump and Biden administrations have said is engaged in genocide? The debate over whether to boycott the 2022 Beijing Olympics is heating up, for the Games open next February. The Biden administration says it is not currently discussing a boycott with allies, but 180 human rights organizations have jointly suggested one, and there are also discussions in Canada and Europe about whether to attend.
Olympic officials and business leaders protest that the Games are nonpolitical, but that is disingenuous. Of course they’re political. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, is hosting the Olympics for political reasons, to garner international legitimacy even as he eviscerates Hong Kong freedoms, jails lawyers and journalists, seizes Canadian hostages, threatens Taiwan and, most horrifying, presides over crimes against humanity in the far western region of Xinjiang that is home to several Muslim minorities.
Olympic officials and business leaders protest that the Games are nonpolitical, but that is disingenuous. Of course they’re political. China’s leader, Xi Jinping, is hosting the Olympics for political reasons, to garner international legitimacy even as he eviscerates Hong Kong freedoms, jails lawyers and journalists, seizes Canadian hostages, threatens Taiwan and, most horrifying, presides over crimes against humanity in the far western region of Xinjiang that is home to several Muslim minorities.
