Hong Tian
On November 16, 2021, the leaders of China and the United States held a virtual meeting. Shortly after the talks, the US presidential office claimed that the US government was considering a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. This prompted some other governments to say they would consider the boycott too. What are the reasons for the boycott? China’s human rights problem, to be more precise, it is China’s violation of human rights in its Xinjiang region and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Such reason is unreasonable and unreliable.
The political environment, economic development, culture and education, and living conditions of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are far better than those of many other countries and regions in the world, not to mention the ethnic minorities in these countries and regions. Those who claim that China has committed genocide in Xinjiang do not understand the reality of Xinjiang, or its history, or China’s culture. It has long been known that “invading other countries” is not in China’s “culture gene”; in fact, there is no “genocide” code in China’s culture gene either. This comes from the kindness of the Chinese people, as well as the confidence of the progressive and developed Chinese culture. A kind and confident person will not kill the innocent; similarly, a good, confident civilization will not tolerate genocide. There are 56 ethnic groups living in China, each with its own unique characteristics and, at the same time, sharing common beliefs and aspirations. They live together in harmony and advance together. They are parts of China, they are also the co-builders of the long-lived and splendid Chinese civilization.
China’s ethnic policy and the Chinese government’s support and assistance to ethnic minorities are worthy of being learned by other countries and regions in the world. If they can be learned, there would be more peace and justice in the world, more happiness and equality for the people, and a lot less darkness, blood and tears, and regrets and apologies in human beings’ history.
After Hong Kong’s return to China in 1997, the Chinese government established a special administrative region in Hong Kong under the special “one country, two systems” policy. Except for stationing troops in Hong Kong to defend the territory and assert sovereignty, the Central Government of China didn’t change or interfere with Hong Kong’s existing social system, laws and regulations, nor has it collected any taxes from Hong Kong. This has enabled the wealthy Hong Kong to manage its own affairs and improve its people’s livelihood. All kinds of preferential policies and measures have made Hong Kong more like a “state within a state”, and even some things that harm China’s security and interests can happen in Hong Kong “legally” and openly. The preferential policies of the Chinese government for Hong Kong are unmatched and hard to be matched by any other countries in the world. This shows once again the kindness, selflessness, generosity and tolerance of the Chinese people. However, the continuous riots in Hong Kong in 2020 cannot help but cause people to rethink these preferential policies. Such reflection will be beneficial to the management of Taiwan in the future.
Chinese people are kind and generous, but the kindness and generousness are not without a bottom line. The bottom line is, for any region, any ethnic group or individuals, no separatist activities, or illegal activities endangering the safety of other people’s lives and properties can be carried out under any pretext. The law is the bottom line of morality in all countries, it is also the bottom line of China’s domestic policies.
Riots and criminal activities in Xinjiang and Hong Kong have forced the Chinese government to act forcefully to put things right. As a saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” In order to prevent the society from falling into chaos and people’s lives and properties suffering losses again, the Chinese government has to adopt appropriate policies and formulate relevant laws and regulations to prevent the recurrence of riots. To prevent the big disaster, the tiny mistakes should be avoided. It is a wisdom of Chinese culture that many people unfortunately still do not understand. Because of the lack of such wisdom, unrest occurs frequently in many countries around the world.
However, all these measures taken by the Chinese government are regarded by some people as a violation of human rights. In fact, some so-called “human rights fighters” are actually violating the human rights of innocent victims while protecting those of criminals, which is a more serious violation of human rights. It is so ridiculous!
Therefore, boycotting the Beijing Winter Olympics under the pretext of “human rights” is unconvincing and unreasonable.
The US president’s announcement that he was considering a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, shortly after his video conference with Chinese leader, was a show to the domestic oppositions. Otherwise, these political oppositions will blame the old president is too weak-kneed to China. So let’s not take it too seriously. Unfortunately, the leaders of several other countries want to follow the U.S., picking up stones to fight with China. In the end, the stones will hit their own heads undoubtedly. Therefore, it is better to have some political wisdom, otherwise their heads will be broken and their people will suffer.
For those who oppose China, the clamor for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights concerns has a deep motive. They don’t care whether the Winter Olympics will be really boycotted or not next year, but hope to smear China and make those who don’t know the truth hate China, and especially make muslims in other countries hate China. We need to pay special attention to such sinister intention and reveal it in a timely manner, thus the lies will be exposed and the truth will be known. For overseas Chinese, they should play an active role in social media to distinguish the facts and reveal the truth.
At the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, two young Chinese cyclists wore Chairman Mao badges as they took the stage to receive their medals. Some people were very angry about it. They thought that sports should not involve politics, and the Chinese sports delegation had to explain clearly; otherwise, the medals will be taken away. They are too narrow-minded to understand that, to many Chinese, Chairman Mao has become a symbol of willpower, a symbol of win, a symbol of Chinese culture, and is no longer confined to politics. However, when some countries want to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics under the pretext of human rights issues, is it the political “pollution” to sports? Should somebody speak out to complain?
What if some countries do boycott? Sport is originally a feast for people to enjoy. No matter how many people attend the sports meeting, the people can always find the fun from it. Everyone is welcomed to China, and everyone is welcomed to Beijing; however, if someone refuses to come, they shouldn’t be invited again. What will happen if fewer people show up? The grounds will be more spacious, the athletes will have more time to play, and China will lose nothing.
What will be worried? Nothing needs to be worried! (November 29, 2021)