On Monday, three disgruntled protesters broke onto the sectioned off site of the Ancient Olympia in Greece to disrupt the Olympic flame ceremony.
Brazenly waving a banner that reads “No Genocide Games,” the stunt was unambiguously done to protest China’s human rights record and the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC’s) decision to allow China to hold yet another Olympics, despite their continued oppression of the Uyghur Muslim population.
“How can Beijing be allowed to host the Olympics given that they are committing a genocide against the Uyghurs,” shouted a protester as the actors below recreated the sacred torch lighting.
These three protesters are only a handful of the many who attempted to evade police and reach the Ancient Olympia before being physically removed. However, given China’s atrocious history of human rights abuses and the proliferation of information via the internet, it is unlikely they will be the last before February 4, 2022.
Indeed, two others were detained only a day before in the Athens’ Acropolis while protesting China, and more protests are scheduled ahead of the Games.
This is even more significant given the historical spirit of the games, which promoted temporary unity between city-states for the sake of sportsmanship and athletic excellence.
It is a complex issue today, in which war is less widespread, but IOC President Thomas Bach believes that the Olympics should remain unpolitical.
“Only this political neutrality ensures that the Olympic Games can stand above and beyond the political differences that exist in our times,” Bach said. “The Olympic Games cannot address all the challenges in our world. But they set an example for a world where everyone respects the same rules and one another.”
Conversely, Tibetan activists — who had their country conquered by the Chinese military in 1951 — disagree strongly, saying the hosting of the Olympics is just another tactic to save face and “sports-wash” China’s human rights abuses “with the glamour and veneer of respectability the Olympic Games brings.”
Of the protesters arrested in Greece, one was a Hongkonger, which suggests that the 2022 Olympics may act as a catalyst for a re-emergence of protests in Hong Kong.
Protests in Hong Kong exploded in June 2019 through early 2020 after China began asserting dominance over the city-state and imposing additional laws ahead of extradition.
At the time, it looked like there was no end in sight to the protests, and the world may see another Tiananmen Square-type massacre to quell the growing rebellion. However, the emergence of COVID-19 in Wuhan acted as the perfect, convenient stopgap to end the protests before things went truly beyond the pale.
That was not all COVID-19 stopped, though: it halted economies globally and ushered in an age of inflation, lockdowns, mandates, and communist-style vaccine passport systems. It put a stop to freedom and free markets.
In truth, beyond its own internal problems, China has, perhaps, never been more hated by the world, and it is a wonder why they still want to move forward with the Olympics. Because, if there is one thing China hates, it is losing face — and the Olympics is the perfect stage for all the world to air their grievances.
