Arkansas Online

Certain punishment

“Any expression that is in line with the Olympic spirit I’m sure will be protected. Any behavior or speech that is against the Olympic spirit, especially against the Chinese laws and regulations, are also subject to certain punishment.”

THAT’S THE word from the deputy director general of international relations for the Beijing Olympic Committee. Emphasis on general, as in martial. Go easy on the “relations” part.

Certain punishment? Does that mean certain, as in various? Like when you say “certain people” torture the Uyghurs of mainland China? Or is that certain, as in beyond doubt?

Yes, to very much put a fine point on it, the ChiComs have just warned athletes from foreign countries to avoid speech that “violates” Chinese law, which is any speech that criticizes Beijing or The Party. Shut up, they explain.

The International Olympic Committee also has rules against political protest at the Games, not that anybody cares. What is the IOC going to do? So athletes have been known to say what they think. But behind the lines, or at least the Great Wall, is something different.

Get this from Reuters: “Speakers at a seminar hosted by Human Rights Watch on Tuesday said they were advising athletes against criticizing China’s human rights record while in Beijing for their own safety.” Human Rights Watch, no less. What kind of punishment could a foreign athlete get in Red China for, say, mentioning the Uyghurs? Or the free Chinese on Taiwan? Or Tank Man at Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989?

The dept. dir. gen. of intern. rels. for the B.O.C. didn’t say exactly.

Reason No. 243 that this should always be known as the Genocide Olympics.

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2022-01-20T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-20T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.arkansasonline.com/article/282475712201200

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