It’s too late to boycott. But much can be done to prevent such a travesty from ever happening again. I propose five reforms, and explain how to force their implementation.
The Beijing Winter Olympics have begun. Along with others, I previously made the case for boycotting these games, and explained why a mere “diplomatic boycott” is insufficient. To the list of reasons outlined previously, such as China’s horrific genocide against the Uyghurs, I would now add the Chinese government’s threats to punish athletes who speak out against its many human rights abuses, and the cruel “zero Covid” policies that have made the Games a “a high-stress and near joyless experience for the athletes and a massive challenge for NBC” and other journalists trying to cover the events. Sadly, it is likely too late to boycott now. But it’s not too late to begin the process of adopting reforms that can prevent similar travesties from recurring in the future. Much can be done to forestall future hosting of the Games by brutal authoritarian regimes, and also eliminate such abuses as wasteful robbing of taxpayers for financing of the Games, and forcible displacement of homes and businesses in order to build Olympic facilities. It’s worth noting that such corruption is a crucial reason why the 2002 Games ended up in Beijing in the first place. As ESPN reports, Oslo, Norway, the initial leading candidate to host the 2022 Winter Games backed out because the Norwegians could not stomache the ridiculous demands of the International Olympic Committee (IOC): [A]bout six months before the final vote, Oslo backed out. In addition to financial concerns about actually staging the Games, Norwegian politicians (and their constituents) were put off by, among other things, the IOC’s alleged demands for perks during the Olympics. The IOC’s requirements included an audience with Norway’s king and a cocktail party for IOC executives with the Norwegian royal family (paid for by the Norwegian government) as well as “seasonal fruit and cakes” in members’ hotel rooms, mandatory smiles for all arriving IOC members from hotel employees, extended hours for hotel bars and service of only Coca-Cola products. The IOC also requested that local schools be canceled during the Games and residents be encouraged to go away on vacation. “Norway is a rich country, but we don’t want to spend money on wrong things, like satisfying the crazy demands from IOC apparatchiks,” wrote Frithjof Jacobsen, chief political commentator for the newspaper VG.
