As the Beijing Olympics approach, it becomes increasingly clear that China, under the control of the Chinese Communist Party, does not deserve an Olympic showcase. Because it’s too late to postpone the Winter Games scheduled for Beijing next February, some understandably proposed that the United States boycott the Games.
China deserves our condemnation. The Chinese Communist Party has renounced its agreement to allow Hong Kong’s self-government; brutally repressed peaceful protesters and imprisoned respected journalists. It is a severe genocide against Uighurs and other ethnic minorities; Uighur women are forcibly sterilized or fertilized by Han Chinese men. Adults, taken from their families, are sentenced to forced labor and concentration camps. Among ethnic Chinese, access to uncensored news and social media is prohibited. Citizens are interviewed, spied on and penalized for attending religious services or expressing dissent.
Prohibiting our athletes from competing in China is the easy but wrong answer. Our athletes trained their whole lives for this competition and prepared their skills for the peak in 2022. When I helped organize the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, I understood the enormous sacrifice made by our aspiring Olympians and their families. It would be unfair to ask a few hundred young American athletes to bear the brunt of our disapproval.
It can also be counterproductive. The Olympic Games are not just a showcase for the host nation, but a platform for American and universal values. If our athletes skip the Games, millions of young Americans at home can skip watching. And the Olympic Games are one of the most enduring demonstrations of the great qualities of the human spirit on the world stage: we witness determination, sacrifice, patriotism, resistance, sportsmanship. We would also lose the global symbolism of our young American heroes standing at the top of the medal podium, with their hands on their hearts, while “The Star-Spangled Banner” plays on Chinese soil.