Amid pandemic and protest, Olympics return to a changed China

Amid pandemic and protest, Olympics return to a changed China

Amid pandemic and protest, Olympics return to a changed China

After diplomatic boycotts and the COVID-19 epidemic drove the Games into a tight bubble, the Beijing Winter Olympics begin in one week, placing sports in the spotlight.

Summer and Winter Games will be held in Beijing for the first time, and several of the city’s venues from 2008 will be reused, notably, the Bird’s Nest stadium, where filmmaker Zhang Yimou will once again helm the opening ceremony.

Amid pandemic and protest, Olympics return to a changed China
Amid pandemic and protest, Olympics return to a changed China

Everything else has changed.

 

As compared to the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, the Winter Olympics will be held in a nation that has become richer, more powerful, and more autocratic under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.

 

A zero-tolerance approach by China in the COVID-19 period has led to the cancellation of practically all foreign flights, forcing Olympic athletes and others to travel straight into a Games bubble on charters.

Amid pandemic and protest, Olympics return to a changed China

Olympic coverage of China’s human rights record has once again focused attention on the country’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims, which opponents believe has deteriorated since 2008, resulting in a diplomatic boycott from the United States and other nations.

 

It is China’s position that claims of mistreatment are untrue and that the Games should not be politicized.

 

“Aiming for global hegemony, China used the 2008 Olympics as a major soft power tool. China’s image in the West has taken a major hit in the last year “Rana Mitter, an Oxford University professor of Chinese history and politics, stated.

 

Winter Olympics in 2022 is a high priority for China’s Communist Party, which believes it may help turn the tide.

 

Even as international tensions rise, the Olympics are poised to begin in Beijing, where Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, will be in attendance.

 

DIFFERENT PLACE AND TIME

 

As a result of recent clusters of COVID-19, notably the highly transmissible Omicron variety, Beijing’s summer carnival atmosphere has been replaced with a sense of dread.

 

Disappointment also abounds among prospective attendees who are unable to attend the event since tickets will not be available to the general public. Attendance at these events is planned to be limited to small, vetted audiences under strong COVID-19 regulations. Amid pandemic and protest, Olympics return to a changed China

 

Closed-loop games will be tested by Omicron, which is rife in many western nations that are known for their winter sports prowess and will be put to the test during the Sochi Winter Olympics in February. Amid pandemic and protest, Olympics return to a changed China

 

As a precaution, several delegations have advised their members to carry “burner” phones.

 

Human rights organizations have also urged against speaking out on politically sensitive issues while in China.

 

In the wake of the Peng Shuai controversy, which saw the Chinese tennis star and former Olympian accuse a retired senior politician of sexual assault before disappearing for many weeks, criticism of China’s hosting of the tournament has grown. Amid pandemic and protest, Olympics return to a changed China

 

Even though Peng subsequently explained that her social media message had been misinterpreted, the WTA, worried about her health, canceled all events in China.

 

As one American Olympian told Reuters, standing up for human rights would put her life in jeopardy.

 

In the case of Peng Shuai, she remarked, “I believe China has proved – with Peng Shuai most recently – that they are ready to go to pretty severe means to quiet any type of discourse they find displeasing.”

 

Despite the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) statement that athletes are allowed to voice their thoughts in news conferences and interviews inside the Olympic bubble, a Chinese official recently said that athletes who breach the Olympic spirit or Chinese norms might be punished.

 

CHOICE WITH CONFIDENCE

 

Only Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan were left as contenders for the 2022 Winter Olympics after numerous other cities withdrew their bids, including long-time favorite Oslo. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) chose Beijing, despite the lack of snow and the lack of winter sports heritage, as the safest option.

 

That optimism was rewarded by China’s effective preparedness, despite environmental worries over huge snowmaking. Thousands of trees have been planted as part of the program’s goal of clearing Beijing’s typically hazy skies of pollution.

 

Unlike the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which were postponed a year due to COVID-19, the Beijing Games were always expected to go on as planned, no matter what.

 

Olympic volunteer Ye Wenxiaoyu, 20, said, “I think the 2008 Olympic Games were magnificent, it was a beautiful spectacle for the globe.” “I think the 2008 Olympic Games were grand,” she said. However, “this year’s Winter Olympics are going to be extremely basic and very low-carbon – but of course, this won’t diminish how lovely it is.”

 

 

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