Olympic athletes urged by activists not to criticize China

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By GRAHAM DUNBAR

GENEVA (AP) — Athletes at the Beijing Olympics were urged by human rights activists Tuesday to avoid criticizing China because they could be prosecuted.

The International Olympic Committee has said athletes will have freedom of speech at next month’s Winter Games when speaking to journalists or posting on social media. However, the Olympic Charter rule that prohibits political protests at medal ceremonies also requires “applicable public law” to be followed.

The IOC has not yet publicly committed to how athletes who speak out would be protected, activists said in a briefing hosted by Human Rights Watch.

“Silence is complicity and that’s why we have concerns,” said Rob Koehler, the director general of the Global Athlete group. “We know the human rights record and the allowance of freedom of expression in China, so there’s really not much protection.”



Student activists wear masks with the colors of the pro-independence East Turkistan flag during a rally to protest the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, outside the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. Dozens of students staged the rally demanding the cancellation of the Beijing Olympics over alleged human rights violations against Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority in China's region of Xinjiang. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/winter-olympics-sports-china-freedom-of-speech-media-7e38d1a234d0068603ab1d95f739fb47

[turbinetree]

1. Fuck that shit .......boycott the games......the Olympics are being held in a authoritarian country

that mocks free speech and dissent...the Olympics are a disgrace....its about greed....end of story....

[Hugh_Lebowski]

3. Probably should be left to the athletes themselves whether they want to go at this point

Also, hosting the Olympics is a money-loser for the locale that does so.

For China it's about the global prestige they feel they'll get by hosting, and are willing and able to lose money over it in exchange.

The networks selling advertising are the only ones who make a net profit I'd imagine.

[GB_RN]

2. Jesus H. Christ On A Stick...

Go play and compete, but keep your mouth shut, or you could be arrested, tried and sentenced just for speaking your mind.

I have a solution to this: No more Olympic games in autocratic countries, ever. Not Russia, not Communist China, not North Korea, Belarus, etc. People shouldn't have to be afraid of speaking their minds wherever they go to compete in games that are supposed to foster friendship, liberty, etc. Awarding games to countries whose governments don't espouse those ideals is just ass backwards.

And while I'm on this rant, the Chinese Communist Party can just go fuck right off. Once it gets there, it can keep fucking off...and while it's at it, ingest a big, huge bag of excrement...and expire.


Note: I have no issues with the PEOPLE of China. It's the ruling, bunch of dictators, the Chinese Communist Party that I have issues with. The people of China, for the most part, are just like you and me: They want to live their lives and be left alone.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

4. Well said (nt)

[oldsoftie]

5. I approve of the above post!

[pecosbob]

6. Remember what happened to Otto Warmbier in North Korea?

North Korea isn't even in the same league with China when it comes to f*cking with foreigners. They regularly disappear them.

Competing in the Olympics is a once in a lifetime opportunity, yet China is a bad actor in every sense of the word. They lapped Russia in the 'f*ck the people, we're the government, we do what we want' foot race quite a while back.

Just an example...when a high-speed train crashed they simply dug a large hole with excavators and buried the train cars whole, with all the dead still inside them.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/25/chinese-rail-crash-cover-up-claims
https://www.ibtimes.com/chinas-bullet-train-crash-train-wreckage-buried-bodies-fall-out-videos-photos-835323

[Gore1FL]

7. I can see them burying the cars, but not removing the bodies is pretty awful.

Freight railroads often buying derailed rolling stock filled with the car's contents because it's often cheaper than trying to salvage anything.

Bodies or dead passengers.... Bodies of dead passengers are another story.