China's flag is raised in style during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing. Photo / AP
China's flag is raised in style during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing. Photo / AP
OPINION
Celebrate the achievements of New Zealand's talented winter Olympians in the coming weeks, sure, but the event itself, or more to the point the location of the Games, must be viewed through a deeply conflicted lens.
In a world of big business and private investment, sportswashing is an increasinglycommon tool used to paper over atrocious human rights records and legitimise propaganda.
Like clambering for a shared toilet while battling food poisoning in a non-airconditioned room in the height of summer, commonality does not make sport's role as a convenient puppet any less palatable.
The International Olympic Committee states the values of Olympism are excellence, friendship and respect. Those, apparently, constitute the foundation on which the Olympic movement promotes sport, culture and education with a view to building a better world.
Let's unpack how "building a better world" and promoting culture aligns with hosting the Winter Olympics in a country that has been widely accused of the genocide of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region; that has attempted to seize political control over Hong Kong and neighbouring Taiwan, and played host to the disappearance - and curious reappearance - of women's tennis star Peng Shuai after she levelled sexual assault allegations against a high-ranking Chinese official.
President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping wave during the opening ceremony. Photo / AP
The all-controlling State's arm extends everywhere from the internet to altering movie endings – viewers of the US film Fight Club in China now witness a climax that says the authorities won.
In turning a blind eye to China's attempt to leverage the Games to polish its image – just as it did 14 years ago when Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics – the IOC are sanctioning a form of silent disco that, temporarily at least, seeks to eliminate activism.
Just this week, New Zealand Olympic Committee Chef de Mission Marty Toomey outlined how New Zealand athletes cannot voice political views on the podium or in the media while at the Games, suggesting there are clear guidelines around when such topics can and cannot be discussed.
No amount of snow, though, can bury the inhuman treatment of Uyghur Muslims that has seen millions incarcerated without any justification and, worse, acts of torture and the systematic suppression of births imposed.
The Xinjiang region is a six-hour flight from Beijing. The UK-based Uyghur Tribunal reported last December that detainees there have been confined in containers up to their neck in cold water; shackled by heavy metal-chains and immobilised for months on end. Treatment extends to extreme sexual violence, including gang rape and penetration with electric shock rods and iron bars.
The report says the State has presided over mass-coerced labour assignments, intensive monitoring, face surveillance and has created open prisons officially described as re-education facilities.
But, sure, the Olympics are intent on building a better world. The real question is at what human cost?
China's flag is raised in style during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing. Photo / AP
Ten countries, including Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Australia and Lithuania are politically boycotting these Games. A New Zealand representative from the embassy in Beijing did, however, attend the opening ceremony.
From an athlete perspective it is probably unfair - with funding and careers tied to performance at pinnacle events - to expect New Zealand's Olympians not to attend. In many respects they could have a greater impact by being there, being aware, and tackling the issues head on as others have at previous Games.
As for the IOC and their Olympic ideals, perhaps those should be altered to something more reflective of their actions, something along the lines of 'money blinds those in power'.
