The guilty 2022 Winter Games

The problem with the Olympics this year

Katherine Ely / Asst. Opinion Editor / The USD Vista

The opening ceremony for the 2022 Winter Olympics started on Feb. 4 at 3:55 am PST. But with their commencement, each of us should ask ourselves one very important question: what’s wrong with the 2022 Olympics?

In December 2021, the Biden administration announced their decision to refrain from sending any U.S. officials to Beijing for the games in protest of the Chinese government’s abuse of human rights. Since then, more countries have followed suit.  

As of 2017, the Chinese government has reportedly imprisoned around one million Uyghurs – a mostly Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic group primarily located in Xinjiang, a northwestern region of China – to be placed in reeducation camps. Those who have not yet been detained are subject to heavily forced surveillance, religious restrictions, and forced labor. China’s government has refused to share information regarding their detention centers and they have prevented journalists and foreign researchers from accessing them. 

When I heard about this controversy surrounding the Olympics this year, I realized the tough dilemma I now faced: I love watching competitive sports, and all the shine and glory that comes with the Olympic events, but is loving the games a justified reason to watch them this year given the political turmoil surrounding it? 

On the one hand, the Olympics encompass tradition and unify the world in a way unlike anything else. For more than a century, humans have found entertainment in watching athletes gather to compete in the Olympic games. We are excited to see the world’s top athletes come together to show their spectacular skills for a sport we love and know, or even those we’ve never seen before. 

On the other hand, in order to do that this year, those athletes have to travel to an authoritarian country where they are skating and skiing in front of adoring crowds, while inexcusable crimes against humanity are occurring just beyond the Olympic ring. 

Ethically, it is hard for me to support a cause when I know horrific things are happening behind the scenes. The Olympics have a rich history that garnered a reputation of bad practices and corruption. For example, Russia was banned from participating in the games for four years in 2019 for running a state-sponsored doping scheme. 

What is even more horrifying is that the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the panel that organizes and administers the events, has decided to turn a blind eye to China’s politics, claiming they wish to hold a neutral position. When asked about the topic of human rights, IOC President Thomas Bach responded, “The principle of political neutrality of the IOC applies.” Their reasoning for allowing Beijing to host this Winter Olympics was mainly for their own monetary gain. Since the announcement of the Beijing games, only a handful of Olympic athletes have spoken out in protest on the matter. Athletes representing numerous countries were preparing to express their support for the victims of China’s authoritarian government during the opening ceremonies. However, these athletes have been heavily discouraged from doing so. 

Athletes who publicly speak in opposition to China’s political practices face the threat of punishment from the Chinese government. Additionally, they also withstand pressures from the IOC, as well as the major corporations sponsoring them, to avoid controversy. 

Due to these circumstances, Olympic athletes have opted out of attending the opening and closing ceremonies, denying China’s government from using these ceremonies to sanction and progress their crimes against humanity. 

It is hard to endorse the Winter Olympics this year considering China’s apparent violation of human rights. So I implore you all, as you are watching the games this year, to acknowledge the issues surrounding them, and hopefully recognize the sacrifices being made in order for them to continue.  

Because of the circumstances in Beijing, I believe that we should refrain from participating in viewing the Olympics this year. Though this might be hard for many of us to do, I think it is ultimately the right decision. You might disagree with me and watch them anyways, but by doing so, you are supporting an organization that has overtly expressed negligence towards a grouping’s basic human rights. We may not be able to stop the games from happening, but what we can do as individuals is make the right decision and oppose an institution with questionable values. It is a sacrifice I believe we must all make.  

If you do choose to watch the games this year and would like to support the cause, you can donate any amount you would like to The Human Rights Watch, an organization dedicated to exposing China’s heinous human rights abuses, or to Amnesty International USA, an organization made to help end human rights abuses all around the globe.