The 2022 Winter Olympic Games are set to be hosted in Beijing, but not if one Republican senator gets his way.
Sen. Rick Scott wants the International Olympic Committee to consider finding a new host city for the upcoming games, citing China’s human rights violations, threats to global security, and recent efforts to pressure the NBA.
“The Olympic Games are an incredible opportunity to allow the world’s best athletes to represent their countries, and should not be hosted by communist China and President Xi, who does not value human rights,” Scott wrote in a letter to Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee. “I ask this committee to stand up for freedom and urge Communist China to do the right thing, or find a new home for the 2022 Olympic Games.”
In referencing the recent controversy between the NBA and China, which began after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for the Hong Kong protest movement, Scott warned the legion of athletes and reporters who will descend on Beijing to cover the Olympics could be strong-armed by China.
“If Communist China has the ability to censor the NBA from speaking about anything that may offend President Xi, what will they do to athletes from around the world?” he told Bach. “Will this regime start censoring or restricting participating athletes? What about the press? Will their broadcasts be censored to appease President Xi?”
The NBA, Scott added, is “just the tip of the iceberg.” The GOP senator urged the International Olympic Committee to examine the global security threat posed by Chinese companies that serve as a “surveillance infrastructure.”
“The 2022 Olympic games in Beijing will provide the Chinese government full access to a global array of dignitaries, athletes, corporations, and governments when someone simply turns on their phone, or connects to WiFi in the hotel,” Scott said. “That sort of totalitarian surveillance must be avoided at all costs.”
The Florida senator also noted China’s expansion into the South China Sea and detainment of more than 1 million Uighur Muslims in internment and “reeducation” camps.
“The International Olympic Committee is now faced with an important decision. If Communist China continues breaking promises, violating human rights, and oppressing the people of Hong Kong, then Beijing should not be allowed to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.”
The Chinese capital city was selected in 2015 to host the Winter Olympics, narrowly beating Almaty, Kazakhstan for rights to the games. Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics.
