Beijing Olympics official decries reports of Xinjiang forced labour, calling them a ‘lie’

Yan Jiarong, spokesperson for the Beijing organising committee, also tells reporters that ‘Taiwan is an inseparable part of China’

Statements are a departure from earlier attempts to evade the issues, in hopes of maintaining the focus on the Games

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Yan Jiarong, spokesperson of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (Bocog), addressed the issues of Xinjiang and Taiwan on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 1:22am, 18 Feb 2022Updated: 2:12am, 18 Feb 2022

In a rare move during the Winter Olympics, China on Thursday openly defended its political positions concerning Xinjiang and Taiwan as the Beijing Games headed into their last weekend.

At the regular joint news briefing of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (Bocog), the Bocog spokesperson Yan Jiarong changed the committee’s usual evasive approach and explicitly addressed those politically sensitive questions, reiterating Beijing’s “very solemn position”.

Two Taiwanese athletes carry the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag as part of the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on February 4. Photo: Zentralbild/dpa

“There is only one China in the world. Taiwan is an inseparable part of China. This is a well recognised principle in international relations, and a consensus widely held by the international community,” Yan said.

Her remarks were “supplementary” after the IOC spokesman Mark Adams answered a question about the reported intention by the delegation from Taiwan, or officially Chinese Taipei, to boycott the closing ceremonies.

“We have always opposed the moves of politicising sports using the Winter Olympics,” Yan added.

The so-called forced labour issue in Xinjiang is a lie fabricated by the forces with ulterior motives

Yan Jiarong, Bocog spokesperson

The Beijing Games have been shadowed by the political disputes over China’s treatment of Uygurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, the reason several nations, led by the United States, cited when declaring a diplomatic boycott, with no officials attending the games though their athletes have competed.