By Riley Eipp
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are in full swing, and the harmful impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on athletes and the diplomatic boycotts of the tragic human rights violations in China are making this year’s olympics one to talk about.
Many critics are concerned about the spread of the pandemic through close contact sports and international travel. As of Jan. 23, there have been 308 positive COVID-19 cases among athletes, officials, and spectators arriving through airports into Beijing. China assures that with the enforcement of “closed loop” circuits of contact between athletes, coaches and officials as well as daily testing, cases will be minimal. Others argue that athletes testing positive for COVID-19 upon arrival to Beijing are experiencing less practice time and potentially missing events due to isolation requirements, suggesting that the closed loop bubbles are not enough.
Along with concern over the pandemic, the Beijing government has been accused of committing human rights crimes and atrocities to the Uyghur Muslim population, including detaining Uguyurs in “reeducation camps,” torturing and sexually abusing the people detained in these camps. Due to these accusations, the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Lithuania, Kosovo, Belgium, Denmark and Estonia have declared diplomatic boycott from the 2022 Olympics. None of these countries will be sending government officials to the Olympics as a protest to the human rights violations committed by the Beijing government.
China has denied the allegations of such violations, along with claiming that the countries conducting boycotts are violating the Olympic spirit. The question now is: has China takenenough precautions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and are the domestic boycotts justified?
The pandemic has taken a toll worldwide, and not only is it still a major health concern, but it can and is causing notable disadvantages for athletes testing positive. If athletes are symptomatic, it has been thoroughly proven that COVID-19 can leave lasting effects on the health of individuals, and having the virus can impact athletes’ performance in the games.
Not only are the pandemic precautions not protecting athletes to the fullest extent, but it is creating disparities and unfairness in competition. The human rights violations are not helping Beijing’s efforts to further promote the Olympics either. These horrific acts of discrimination against innocent people justify more than a boycott of a major sporting event, but this public display of disapproval by multiple countries is a start.
