Beijing 2022 Olympics: activists call for boycott over China’s record on human rights

‘If China doesn’t stop human rights violations in Tibet … [it] should not be allowed to host [the event],’ president of Tibetan Community in Japan says

Coalition of 180 rights groups says boycott of Beijing Games will ‘ensure they are not used to embolden the Chinese government’s appalling rights abuses and crackdowns on dissent’

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Tibetans living in exile in India take part in a protest on Wednesday against the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 5:15pm, 4 Feb 2021Updated: 5:15pm, 4 Feb 2021

A group of activists campaigning for human rights in Tibet and support for ethnic Uygurs called on Thursday for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, saying the event would embolden China’s government in its crackdowns.

The Beijing Games are due to open in a year’s time but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is coming under pressure from critics of China’s human rights record.

“The IOC foolishly decided on having the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing [so] we are forced to speak out,” Kalden Obara, president of a group called the Tibetan Community in Japan, told a news conference in Tokyo.

“If China doesn’t stop human rights violations in Tibet and the neighbouring regions, then China should not be allowed to host this 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.”

The Beijing Games are due to start next year but the International Olympic Committee is coming under pressure from critics of China’s human rights record. Photo: EPA-EFE

A coalition of 180 rights groups said in an open letter to various governments on Wednesday that a boycott of the Beijing Games would “ensure they are not used to embolden the Chinese government’s appalling rights abuses and crackdowns on dissent”.

Another activist at the Thursday news conference, Hidetoshi Ishii, vice-president of the Free Indo-Pacific Alliance, called for countries, including the United States, to act in unison.

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