Despite mounting global opposition, China remains undeterred in its ongoing human rights abuses.
The U.S. is increasing economic pressure, but to no avail yet. It’s time to consider additional strategies, and one possibility is a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
The State Department teased the possibility and set the world abuzz, but later the White House denied that a boycott was under consideration.
President Joe Biden must speak out against China’s ongoing human rights violations, including its treatment of the Uyghur Muslims, its use of forced labor, its rolling back of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong and more. He should publicly consider a boycott. He’s leaving leverage on the table if he doesn’t.
It wouldn’t be the first time the U.S. boycotted the Olympics. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter led a boycott against the games in Moscow in opposition to the Soviet Union’s military presence in Afghanistan. Despite the boycott, the Soviet Union didn’t budge for another 10 years.
Still, the boycott drew international attention and showed the resolve and unity of 65 nations along with the U.S. in not sending athletes to the games.
That unity is key. If Mr. Biden were to publicly confirm consideration of an Olympic boycott, he could make China sweat. Other nations have spoken out against China’shuman rights violations and might support a U.S. boycott. This additional pressure could help push China toward realizing that if it wishes to maintain its international relationships, the country needs to adjust its treatment of its people.
The International Olympic Committee has spoken out against boycotts in years past and has made it clear that it will not move the games from Beijing. The organization seems to accept “assurances” from China that the violations are not real, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
The IOC’s website states its goal is to contribute to building “a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.”
This goal cannot be fully achieved when the games are hosted by a country that oppresses its own people. If for no other reason than this, Mr. Biden should publicly state that American participation in the 2022 Olympics is not a sure bet.
— Tribune News Service
