The Debate Over Boycotting the 2022 Beijing Olympics
For months, human rights groups and some politicians in Western nations have urged countries to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing over the Chinese government’s rights abuses. The United States became the first major power to impose a diplomatic boycott, announcing two months before the games that it will not send any officials to Beijing. Other countries, including some in the European Union (EU), could follow suit.To get more news about
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China is facing intense criticism for its human rights record. Several countries, including the United States, have accused China of committing genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region, allegations that China denies. Rights groups have also called attention to Beijing’s repression in Tibet and its crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong. The disappearance of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai from public view in November added to concerns.
A coalition of nearly two hundred rights groups argues that participating in the Beijing Olympics would be turning a blind eye to these abuses and could be seen as “an endorsement of the Chinese Communist Party’s authoritarian rule.” The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which organizes and oversees the games, has sought to avoid the controversy, reaffirming that it maintains a “neutral” position on political issues.
In a full boycott, a government refuses to send athletes, officials, and spectators to the host nation. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is instead imposing a diplomatic boycott: Citing the Chinese government’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang” and other abuses, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said athletes are still allowed to compete, but Biden and other government officials will not attend.
Relocation. Some lawmakers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and several EU countries have called for the 2022 Olympics to be moved to another country if China does not stop persecuting Uyghurs. Experts say the IOC is unlikely to consider a relocation, which would probably require a postponement at this late date.
Athlete protests. Athletes can themselves boycott the games or use the media spotlight to make political statements. Although this is prohibited by the IOC, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee has said it will not sanction American athletes for protests. Still, some experts warn that athletes who do so could face repercussions.
Actions by sponsors. Activists are also pressuring corporate sponsors, such as Airbnb and Coca-Cola, to withdraw their support, though none have done so yet. When the Financial Times asked the thirteen companies that have major sponsorship contracts with the IOC about their plans, eleven refused to comment.
Full boycotts have happened a handful of times for a variety of reasons. Notable examples include the 1976 games, when more than two dozen African nations boycotted the Montreal Olympics after the IOC refused to ban New Zealand, whose rugby team had ignored an international sporting embargo to tour apartheid South Africa. Four years later, the United States led a boycott of the Moscow Olympics to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union retaliated in 1984, boycotting the Los Angeles Olympics. The last full boycott was in 1988, when North Korea and its allies skipped the Seoul Olympics.
Experts say it is difficult to measure a boycott’s success. “Boycotts have impacts in a variety of ways that are almost always indirect, almost always over a relatively extended period of time, and sometimes counterproductive,” says David Black, a professor at Dalhousie University who studies sports and international diplomacy.
For example, Black says, the Soviet Union didn’t leave Afghanistan because of the 1980 boycott, but the boycott eroded the prestige it hoped to gain from the games and signaled growing disapproval of Moscow’s actions.
