By: Matthew R. Crouch
What is the kernel of the issue?
The participation of any democratic nation in the 2022 Winter Olympics, while hosted in Beijing, is a tacit endorsement of the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang.
Why is the issue important?
US leadership on issues of human rights is critical to enforcing the standards of freedom and equality that are the hallmarks of the western, liberal, rules-based order. Applying pressure where possible to large-scale, nation-state perpetrators of human rights violations is a requisite step to upholding the standards that have given the world the broad prosperity that all have enjoyed since the end of the Second Word War.
What is the recommendation?
The Biden Administration and likeminded allied nations should make a coordinated announcement of their refusal to participate in the 2022 Olympic games unless and until the PRC stops its genocide of the Uyghur people.