Why is China hosting?
In a controversial decision, the International Olympic Committee voted 44 to 40 in 2015 to award the 2022 Winter Olympics to China. China won partly because a number of cities had withdrawn from the bidding, including Stockholm, Sweden, and Oslo, Norway, citing the costs and lack of interest by their citizens. Beijing views its selection as a major opportunity to promote China’s image as a world power rivaling the U.S. But activists are calling for the U.S. to lead a boycott of the competition. The outcry stems primarily from China’s treatment of the Muslim Uighur minority, which the Trump and Biden administrations have labeled as genocide. Since 2017, an estimated 1 million Uighurs in the western Xinjiang region have been detained without trial in indoctrination camps. Men and women have been subjected to horrific abuses, including torture, rape, forced labor, sterilization, and political indoctrination, with demands they abandon their Muslim religion. Human Rights Watch has denounced China’s treatment of the Uighurs as “crimes against humanity.” Tensions have also ratcheted up over recent Chinese cyberattacks on the U.S., crackdowns on prodemocracy activists in Hong Kong, and aggression against Taiwan. The Chinese government has warned of a “robust response” if Washington opts to boycott.