The unknown whereabouts of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai once again has raised the spectre of multiple human rights issues in China. Peng, one of the country’s most recognizable tennis stars, has not been seen publicly since November 2nd, when she accused a top government official of sexual assault. Back in 2020, the Australians exposed the fact that a network of nearly 40 internment camps had been constructed or were under construction in China’s far west, used to detain Uighurs and people from other Muslim minorities. Chinese authorities said that the camps were part of their “re-education” system, which they claimed was about to be phased out. Then of course, there was the forced closure of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy newspaper the Apple Daily in June 2021, just eight months after the Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership imposed a new national security law on Hong Kong. The new law was aimed at quelling pro-democracy rallies that started in the summer of 2020 in response to China’s proposed extradition law. Then there was the arrest of two Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig who were imprisoned in China on trumped up charges for nearly three years, as part of China’s retaliation for the arrest in Canada of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou for possible extradition to the U.S. Of course, in each and every case the Chinese authorities have denied accusations of human rights abuses.
Make no doubt about it, all powerful President Xi Jinping and the CPC desperately want the winter Olympics to go ahead, putting China once again on the world’s stage. Now we hear that President Biden is considering a U.S. diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic games in Beijing to protest China’s treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority and other human rights violations. Some experts suggest that Canada would most likely follow his lead. Nevertheless, the games would no doubt proceed with the full participation of American and Canadian Olympians.
Six times in the past, countries officially boycotted the Olympic Games, with as few as three countries refusing to compete in 1964 and as many as 65 nations in 1980, led by the U.S., staying away from Moscow, Russia, as a result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Just as Adolf Hitler tried to use the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin to raise the stature of Nazi Germany and Aryan race, President Xi Jinping and the CPC are anxious to use these Olympic Games to highlight China’s achievements. Politically, Xi’s expected to break precedent and secure a third term to extend his indefinite rule and certainly doesn’t want to be embarrassed by any boycott.
In light of the current situation involving Peng Shuai, there is increasing political pressure on both the U.S. and Canada to at least promote a diplomatic boycott of the winter games. However, Canadian lawyer and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dick Pound notes that implementing such a boycott won’t make any difference to China if only one or two countries are involved. Certainly, no one wants to penalize the athletes who have trained and competed for years to participate in the Olympics. Given China’s international initiatives, especially those in developing countries, it would be next to impossible to obtain widespread political support for any full-blown boycott. As the world’s second most powerful economic entity, China has a tremendous amount of clout.
For this reason, Xi Jinping will have his day in the Chinese winter. Once again, concerns about human rights will take second place to economic and political matters. For what it’s worth, this past week, the Washington Post reported that the White House is expected to announce that neither President Biden nor any other U.S. government officials will attend the Beijing Games. I this is the cases, one can expect that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would shortly follow the President’s lead. However, China will proceed with the games and its athletes will prevail in many sports. Americans and Canadians can be expected to watch in awe as China displays its culture, technologies and athleticism. As an avid China watcher, I’ll be looking forward to the show!
FROLITICKS 