冬奥时评 ：Athletes say no to the “sneaky boycott” of …

原创 郝诗楠 上海外国语大学

OPINION | Hao Shinan: Athletes say no to the “sneaky boycott” of Beijing Winter Olympics

Over the past period of time, the Beijing Winter Olympics has become another channel for some politicians in the United States and Western countries to sanction China. On the one hand, they attempt to show their attitude towards China's "violation of human rights and freedoms" through some form of "boycott" of the Winter Olympics. On the other hand, however, these politicians also know that this kind of "boycott" is groundless, and they also know very well that “politicizing sports” cannot win the support of most people around the world.

So in a sneaky way, Western politicians try to play a “double-game”. While declaring that political leaders will not participate in the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, United States and Western countries fail to prevent rank-and-file officials and athletes from flying to Beijing. Indeed, politicians in these countries may feel complacent that this "two faced" approach of boycott is quite smart.

However, the athletes from the United States and Western countries responded to this trick in another way. These days coincide with Chinese New Year of the tiger. Netizens not only watch videos related to the New Year on some video websites, but also find out video clips about the life of some American and Western athletes in the Olympic village. Most of these videos were shot by athletes themselves and uploaded to their social media.

In these videos, the athletes who have just arrived at the Olympic Village in Beijing look quite excited. It seems that they are very satisfied with the arrangements in the Olympic Village - whether the accommodation, diet or even free game facilities. Several athletes, with a talent for comedy, have shot a lot of funny short videos, which also won the resonance of Chinese netizens. From these videos, we can see that the measures of closed-loop management in Beijing Winter Olympics have not brought boredom, closure or depression as someone imagines. On the contrary, under the careful arrangement, the Olympic village has still become a "global village" full of vigor.

Certainly, the Chinese people did hear some false accusations against the Winter Olympics in recent one or two years. However, they did not disrupt Beijing's efforts for preparations. China has persisted in its commitment and has effectively promoted the preparatory work. On the basis of the highest standard of the Olympic Village, Beijing has also built a network for combating COVID-19. As a result, the building of the Olympic village has balanced the spirit of openness and the needs of epidemic prevention to the greatest extent. It not only reflects China's commitment to opening up and the fulfillment of the responsibilities of great powers, but also demonstrates good governance of China. It undoubtedly makes some politicians in the United States and Western countries with the attempts of “politicization of sports” finally caught in a trap of its own making.

There is a Chinese saying that "the eyes of the masses are bright". The evaluation of the Winter Olympics cannot completely depend on politicians’ preference, because politicians in the West always say something against the facts in order to be "politically correct". However, athletes do not endorse it. By separating the politics and sports, overseas athletes now are keen on using their eyes, of course also mobile phones, to record their every bit of their life in Beijing and express their real feelings. None of this can be faked.

Therefore, we may have the reason to believe that the Beijing Winter Olympic Games will finally disregard all the “noise” and then offer a magnificent event of “faster, higher, stronger and together” for the people over the world.

The author, Dr. HAO Shinan, is an associate professor of comparative politics at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Shanghai International Studies University (SISU).

郝诗楠，上海外国语大学国际关系与公共事务学院副教授。

原标题：《冬奥时评 ：Athletes say no to the “sneaky boycott” of Winter Olympics》

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