The possibility of a boycott has arisen in other countries, such as Canada and Australia. Dozens of human rights organizations, many of which represent groups such as Tibetans, have also called for a boycott. But institutions that deal with the issues of the Olympic Games, such as the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, have apparently shown no interest.
China has responded to calls for a boycott with ridicule and threats, while insisting that it does not abuse the Uighurs or other groups highlighted by human rights activists. The media supported by the state also makes no support. “If a country is encouraged by extremist forces to take concrete action to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics, China will certainly take revenge. “China definitely has the means and the means to do that,” an editorial in the Global Times argued.
Lessons unlearned
In 1980, when Moscow hosted the Summer Games, Carter called for a boycott in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. About 65 countries joined the boycott, while 80 went ahead and took part.
US allies Germany, Canada and Israel boycotted the event, but other allies, such as Britain and Australia, sent athletes to compete. Four years later, the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the Los Angeles Summer Games.
Today, many people consider the 1980 boycott to be largely unsuccessful. After all, it was almost another decade before the Soviet Union left Afghanistan. And many hopeful American athletes lost their shot at Olympic glory despite years of training.
Some former Trump administration officials prefer to participate in the 2022 Games as a platform to air concern, perhaps in creative ways. Biden, for example, may include Uighur Americans as part of the official U.S. delegation. U.S. athletes can also be encouraged to speak out against China’s repressive policies.
“Staying in the Olympics can actually be a powerful means of shedding light on their abuse, if we have the will,” said Alex Gray, a Trump and China National Security Council official. specialist now with the jurisprudence American Council on Foreign Policy, said POLITICO. “A boycott may catch fire again, but using the Games to highlight Xinjiang, Tibet, Christians and more will be more effective if the whole world looks at it.”