The Olympics would prefer to remain free of politics but things got political, in a major way, at Thursday’s IOC press conference.
The daily press briefing is usually full of discussions about issues inside the Games — weather, COVID, judging controversies, doping cases, etc.
It went off the rails when a spokeswoman for the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee took offense to a question involving Taiwan. The inquiry centered on whether the IOC demanded that the delegation from Taiwan (or Chinese Taipei) appear in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.
An IOC spokesman wasn’t sure, but noted Chinese Taipei did march in the parade of nations, which is required under the Olympic charter.
That’s when Yan Jiarong, a spokeswoman for the Beijing Organizing Committee, jumped in.
“Could I just make some supplementary remarks because this is something we have to take a solemn position,” Yan said. “What I want to say is there is only one China in the world. Taiwan is an in-dividable part of China and this is a well recognized international principle and well recognized in the international community.”
She then added.
“We are always against the idea of politicizing the Olympic games.”
The status of Taiwan is a long-standing controversy and matter of international law. China believes it has full authority over the island off its southeastern coast, a position called “One China.” The Taiwanese, however, believe they have self-sovereignty.
Reporters quickly asked the IOC if Yan’s comments violated an Olympic policy against political comments.
“Our concern here is with the 206 national Olympic committees,” Adams said. “There are many views on all sorts of things around the world and our job is to make sure the Games take place and the magic of the Games happen and we can improve the world through sport.”
Adams was then asked whether any cotton harvested by slave labor in the Xinjiang region of China was being used in any Olympic clothing, products or by associated partners.
Numerous international human rights organizations, foreign governments (including the United States) and independent journalists have detailed the internment, forced labor, torture, rape and abuse of Uyghur ethnic minority groups.
It’s estimated, and backed by satellite imaging, that around 1 million Uyghurs are imprisoned in so-called “re-education camps.” Some are forced to pick cotton and other crops which the state then sells. China has denied it, but it has also denied the United Nation’s own high commissioner for human rights access to the area.
Adams quickly pointed to detailed studies and third party confirmations that IOC clothing was free of any cotton from the Xinjiang region. He further noted that all IOC uniforms are made with recycled materials and contain no cotton at all.
Yan, however, stepped in again.
“I feel obliged to make a very quick comment,” said Yan. “I think the so-called forced labor in Xinjiang is lies made up by deliberate groups. And the relevant organizations have provided large amounts of facts to dispute that.”
Then she added: “And we are against the politicizing of sports.”
Adams was then asked about Yan’s comments and what exactly was the IOC’s position on slave labor and the fate of the Uyghurs.
“It’s a view from Maddam Yang,” Adams said. “What I would say is I don’t believe it is particularly relevant to this press conference or relevant to the IOC. We are very, very concerned about protecting human rights within our sphere, which is within the Olympic Games …
“We leave it to other organizations, the United Nations, international organizations to look at aspects outside of what is happening here.”
With that, Yan doubled down on her position.
“These questions are very much based on lies,” she said. “Some authorities have already disputed such false information with a lot of solid evidence. You are very welcome to refer to that evidence and the facts.”
In scramble mode, the IOC was pleased to find more sympathetic questions about the widely-praised performance of volunteers at these Games. However, even one of those went awry. The IOC had brought in a volunteer, a young woman named Wei Yining, to speak to the media about being a volunteer.
However, Wei was asked if she was aware of Peng Shaui, her social media posts and whether she thought Peng was safe in China.
Peng, a former professional tennis player, last fall accused a high-level Chinese government official of rape. She then disappeared from public view and communication for three weeks. She has returned, but either in state-released videos or surrounded by handlers that international experts believe are state-security.
Peng has since denied making the rape allegation and claimed she is safe in forced appearances and an interview with a French sports publication that even the publication acknowledged was likely propaganda. She met with IOC president Thomas Bach earlier in the Games, a photo opportunity that the Chinese Communist Party likely appreciated.
The Peng story has been almost completely censored inside of China, including having Chinese Olympic officials and some translators refuse to even say her name at these daily press briefings.
As such, Wei Yining seemed confused by the question.
“Well, I am sorry I don’t really know that.”
Even here as the Olympics begin to wind down, the IOC’s choice of partnering with China and having Thomas Bach and other officials serve as propaganda agents reiterating Beijing talking points, has very much politicized an event that, of course, isn’t supposed to be political.
