By Tenzin Lekhden
DHARAMSHALA, Nov.30: India has backed China hosting the winter Olympics and the Paralympics in Beijing despite exacerbating border tensions and its allies the US and Britain considering a diplomatic boycott of the games over human rights issues. India and Russia showed their support for the Beijing winter Olympics in a joint statement following a meeting of Russia-India-China Foreign Ministers.
The development comes against the backdrop of India and China having been in a border stand-off for more than 19 months, which is still continuing in the bordering regions of Ladakh and the so called Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). Additional reports suggest China’s rapid construction of villages along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and into territory claimed by India. The stand-offs in Ladakh and TAR in May 2020, according to Indian reports, have resulted in the deaths of 20 Indians and 25 to 40 Chinese troops.
An opinion piece published by China’s state-run media Global Times claimed that India’s show of support for the winter Olympics and the Paralympic games shows that India is not a natural ally of the US. The US and its close allies recently made public their consideration of a possible diplomatic boycott. China’s Foreign Minister accused the Biden administration of politicising the games and not celebrating the spirit of the Olympics.
The Olympics have a considerable history of boycotts over varying issues, majority of them political. Spain, Netherlands, and Switzerland did not participate in the 1956 Summer Games to protest the invasion of Hungary by Warsaw Pact troops. Rhodesia had its invitation withdrawn after multiple other African countries threatened to withdraw from the 1972 Summer Olympics. South Africa was forced to withdraw and was even expelled from the International Olympics Committee (IOC) due to institutionalised racism, during South Africa’s apartheid era. The IOC has not condemned or banned China for human rights abuses in China’s colonised regions.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, on Monday, according to Chinese state-run media Global Times said, “The Winter Olympics is a grand event for global athletes and winter-sports enthusiasts, not a stage for political manipulation. And its success is never determined by whether certain country’s officials will attend or not.” Wang also added that the boycotts are smear campaigns under the guise of human rights abuses and they are doomed to face opposition from the international community.
One Response
Many people could have got discouraged when they read the above report. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, twenty nations refused to sign the “Olympic truce”. It’s a concept dating back to Ancient Greece to avoid war during the Olympic Games. The reason why they didn’t sign the truce is to send a message to Communist China of its abysmal human rights in Tibet, East Turkistan, Hong Kong and treatment of Chinese Tennis Star Peng Shaui. It reports, “None of the Quad members- United States, India, Australia and Japan – sponsored the resolution, and New Zealand was the only country in the Five eyes intelligence sharing network, comprising Australia, NZ, Canada, the UK and the US, to sign the truce”.
Turkey also refrained from co-sponsoring the resolution owing to the treatment of the Muslim Uighur treatment by the Chinese’s communist State.
The bombshell by the WTA to call off all Tennis events in China which is worth more than a billion dollars has been a slap on the face of dictator Xi and his goons. Hats off to the WTA and it’s leader Steve Simon for the highly esteemed stand against the genocidal regime irrespective of the loss they will incur as a result. It is morally and ethically the absolute right thing to do and the whole world will give a standing ovation for this very courageous stand.
The CCP is barking about mixing politics and sports in order to rebut the accusations levelled against it for its dismal human rights record and holding Peng Shuai hostage. The fact is, it’s communist China who never ceases to mix politics with sports. When the Sri Lankan Skipper Mahela Jayawardene and former skipper Kumar Sangkkara visited India to play for the IPL (Indian Premier League) in 2010, China pressured Sri Lanka to prevent the two players from meeting the Dalai Lama when their team, Kings Punjab XI paid a courtesy call upon the the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala!!! Who is mixing politics and sports?
There was another case of a New Zealand boy who was selected to represent New Zealand for a sports tournament in China and the CCP denied him a visa because his father was a Tibetan!!! He was asked to give a written assurance that he will not protest while in China which was rejected by the New Zealand authorities. Who is mixing politics with sports? If this is not the pot calling the kettle black, what is it?
It is rich for the CCP to accuse others when it’s record shows it is the culprit of everything it accuses others of. The human rights of Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, 38, is also grave concern to the international community. She was arrested for reporting the cover up of the Wuhan virus and sentenced to four years in jail. She is dying as this goes to press.
Peng Shuai’s life is in grave danger once the Games (if held) are over. In order to protect the CCP crime syndicate, it will eliminate any opponent. The CCP is just like an insurance company. It has no interest in the wellbeing of the customer but is ONLY interested in protecting its assets. The CCP is ONLY interested in protecting itself and will spare no effort to eliminate those who pose a perceived threat to its existence. The rape by Zhang Gaoli goes to the heart of the CCP malaise. It’s a rotten edifice that is guarded by deceit, propaganda, lies and intimidation.
The IOC must follow the example of the WTA and rid itself of the stench of the CCP notoriety! Otherwise it will also become International Organisation of Crime!!!