Europe is divided on upcoming political representatives Beijing Olympic Games-its tenacious struggle has won China’s first victory.
The Olympic ideal is both fascinating and prone to conflict: competitors and even hostile countries can compete on an arena far from the main politics. The dispute starts with the question of under what circumstances can you refuse to participate or the competition?
There is a long tradition of threats and actual political boycotts at the Olympics—most prominently the apartheid countries of the 1960s and 1970s and the Russian occupation of Afghanistan in 1980 and 1984.
The Olympic Games have created a powerful and emotional image. The opening ceremony was an extraordinary display of history and culture. The president and the prime minister sat in the stands, watching the opening of the host country heads and releasing the white doves that symbolized peace.
There is no doubt that China will use these symbols very deliberately to strengthen its image, which has deteriorated in recent years and has made Beijing the center of Western political and economic attention.
Will the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics in February make a difference?
Should European and Western politicians stay alive because of the ongoing human rights violations in the host country and the latest case of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai?
The United States declared a diplomatic boycott on the grounds of human rights violations. Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom have followed suit, and calls for other countries to join in are getting louder and louder.
The diplomatic boycott will only take effect when a significant number of governments are involved. But for a geopolitical and economic heavyweight like China, he will think twice before joining.
Dick Pond, a senior member of the International Olympic Committee, told German style From a sports perspective, Monday “has no problems in China.”
The decision to choose Beijing was not “to show that we support the country’s political goals,” Pound said, adding that the Chinese Olympic Organizing Committee will allow athletes to express their opinions at a press conference.
Over the years, dissatisfaction among human rights organizations has been accumulating.According to a Recent report Amnesty International stated that since the 2008 Summer Olympics, the human rights situation in China has not improved. According to many observers, the “open” country promised at the time did not happen either.
At the same time, more than 1 million Uyghurs are being held in so-called re-education camps in China’s Xinjiang province. There are reports of forced sterilization and abortion, forced organ harvesting, and torture, which Beijing denies. Human Rights Watch Some Western governments are talking about “genocide.”
On Monday, EU foreign ministers are expected to reach a consensus on whether to join the US-led diplomatic boycott of the Olympics.
A senior EU official told reporters last week that although the EU has not yet made an “undecided” on whether to send any representatives to Beijing, it “strongly and strongly recommends a common European approach” and predicted that the negotiations may become chaotic. Different opinions among member states.
However, in the end, after a lot of noise from EU capitals, the cans were kicked over. The EU is unlikely to make a joint decision on diplomatic boycott this week, and discussions are likely to resurface in mid-January.
So far, neither Germany nor France has allowed officials to withdraw from the event. For French President Emmanuel Macron, not sending an official delegation to the Olympics is “just iconic”.
Several EU foreign ministers suggested that it is best for European politicians to express their opinions on human rights issues when visiting China.
In addition, until countries decide to prevent their own athletes from participating in the Olympics, diplomatic boycott is only a “lighter option.”
Either way, the effectiveness of diplomacy or a total boycott of the Olympics is a controversial issue.
However, due to the current wavering between member states, the main message that diplomatic resistance should achieve—unified and clear condemnation—has been compromised.
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Pay close attention, watch out, watch out…
- European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans and COP26 President Alok Sharma hold a video conference call
- Home Affairs Commissioner Ilva Johnson visits Washington
- European Commission President Ursula von der Lein and High Representative Josep Borrell attend the Eastern Partnership Summit
The opinions are those of the author.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic/ Alice Taylor]
