Last fall, the International Olympic Committee summoned a video of protesters calling for Beijing ‘removal from the ranks of the 202nd Fifth Olympic Games.
“You, ladies and gentlemen, have a responsibility,” replied Juan Antonio Samaranch, chairman of the forthcoming IOC Coordination Commission for the Winter Games, according to BuzzFeed News. “We have our own.”
The protesters also spoke of the detention of Muslims in Xinjiang, the seizure of democracy in Hong Kong, and the ongoing repression in Tibet. But IOC officials answered their questions by saying that the 2008 Olympics in Beijing provided a better atmosphere and public transportation, according to his writings and interviews with several freedom fighters.
Called the “Olympic genocide,” many human rights groups he urged IOC to move the game to another country, and others to compare the next competition held in Nazi Germany in 1936. The US and Canada has publicly declared that China is killing Uyghurs and a few other Muslims in Xinjiang.
Responding to a series of questions on the issue, the IOC said it agreed with the NGO’s views on issues including human rights at the Beijing Games. The committee said it had discussed the matter with the government and government officials, who had assured them that they would honor the Olympic Alliance.
“Given the participation in various Olympic games, the IOC should not meddle in politics,” the IOC said in an email. “Giving the Olympic Games to the International Olympic Committee does not mean that the IOC is politically correct, state of affairs or standards of human rights in its country.”
The IOC promotes the principles of human rights outlined in the Olympic document, and says it “takes this responsibility seriously.”
It added: “At the same time, the IOC does not have the power or the ability to change the law or the politics of the country.
The IOC repeated he emphasized their political neutrality in response to questions about the experimental ethics in China. But with the release of the secret video on October 6, 2020, IOC officials went further.
The singing, which lasted for more than an hour and a group of six freedom fighters and five IOC officials, began to have hope but was shattered, according to some members of the group.
Officials said the Olympics could be a catalyst for a smooth transition. He also mentioned the 2008 Summer Olympics, saying that when Beijing held that year, it encouraged the transformation of infrastructure and fresh air.
“They were still talking about fresh air, but for the first time, they were saying that the cloud was called ‘Olympic Blue’ because… was the first time to see blue air in Beijing,” said one official, according to the notes.
Teng Biao, one of China’s most prominent human rights lawyers, has been summoned. He told BuzzFeed News that he was not impressed.
“It is difficult to defend the Chinese government in terms of human rights or the rule of law,” Teng told BuzzFeed News. “That’s why they can find something like environmental policies.”
“The Olympic Games in Beijing are also seen as an acknowledgment of CCP violence including the killing of Uyghur,” he said.
Teng lives in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics and said, as other human rights lawyers, was banned from traveling, detained and tortured in police custody before the match. He said he had told officials that his experience showed that re-hosting the Olympics in Beijing could lead to problems. Police were not immediately available for comment. But IOC officials appeared to be uninterested, Teng said.
Samanchanch, head of the IOC’s co-ordinating body, said in a statement that the game was “extremely profitable,” a mix of people of different races and religions, “even politicians, women and men, even politicians,” according to documents seen by BuzzFeed News.
“The world is under a lot of political control,” he added. “We can’t say and agree with one or the other.”
Zumretay Arkin, program coordinator and facilitator at the World Uyghur Congress, told IOC officials in a call that they needed brothers in Xinjiang. He further added that officials had apologized for the inconvenience, but the world was a “very difficult place” – a reminder of what was written in the manuscripts and of human rights activists present at the rally.
Arkin told BuzzFeed News that he did not strongly agree with the IOC officials. “Everything has gotten worse since 2008,” he said. “We have killed many people, we have people in concentration camps, and you are telling us that things have not improved.”
“We are experiencing these issues,” he added. “You can’t think of playing this game in North Korea or elsewhere. How is China different? ”
Dorjee Tseten, executive director of the Free Tibetan Students, said she had told officials that she and others had risked retaliating against themselves and their families to publicly challenge the IOC’s idea. He also said that many Buddhist monks and other Tibetan tribes had been imprisoned or killed within a long government campaign. Violent demonstrations originated in Tibet ahead of the 2008 Games, and also the then IOC president said the demonstrations it was “difficult” for the organization. But video officials don’t seem to care, Tseten said.
“I was shocked,” he said. “How can I describe the cold faces? Little did she know that she was suffering. ”
Arkin, Teng, and Tseten say talks with the IOC have continued since October, including a second call this month, but Arkin said nothing has changed. Politics in the US and Europe, including former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, in recent months has called on governments to boycott the game. Opponents claim that this could lead to fraudulent penalties for runners. But human rights activists say they see the international strike as their only option, as it is unlikely the IOC will move the game.
Human rights organizations also want to pressure companies like Airbnb dissolving supportive relationships and the 2022 Games.
Tseten and others who took part in the protests that led to the 2008 Games say China’s uprising against democracy in Hong Kong and the persecution in Xinjiang mean they are not safe even now.
“We told them, in the end, this was going to be a violent game,” Tseten said. “And historically, the IOC has replaced it.”
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