On December 5, 2021, Chinese Consul General in Penang Mr. Lu Shiwei published a signed article titled “Politicizing the Olympics Violates the Olympic Spirit” in Malaysian media Sin Chew Daily. The full text is as follows:

The 24th Winter Olympic Games will be held in Beijing, China on February 4, 2022. As the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics is just around the corner, winter sports athletes from all over the world are making their final preparations. People around the world are eagerly awaiting Beijing to bring them surprises once again. However, some politicians from few countries including the United States (US) have recently called for a so-called “diplomatic boycott” of the Beijing Winter Olympics by only sending athletes to participate in the opening ceremony and the competitions of the Beijing Winter Olympics, but not sending any government officials to attend the Games. 

According to relevant regulations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the protocols of the Olympic Games, high-ranking officials are invited by the respective national Olympic committees of their own countries to attend the Olympic Games. The US and a handful of countries link their officials’ attendance with so-called “human rights issues” to obviously politicizing sports. In fact, this is to interfere in China’s internal affairs in the name of defending human rights, in an major attempt to use the so-called boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics as a bargaining chip to impose additional international political and diplomatic costs on China, and to stigmatize and maliciously suppress China. The so-called “human rights issues” against China are fundamentally inconsistent with facts.

It is the consensus of the international community that sports should not be politicized. The Olympic Charter explicitly stipulates that sports organizations within the Olympic Movement shall apply political neutrality, and opposes any political or commercial abuse of sport and athletes. The attempts by politicians of a handful of countries such as the US to use “human rights” as a political tool to label the Beijing Winter Olympics not only violate the core Olympic values, but also run counter to the new Olympic motto which have been revised by adding the word “together”. 

Throughout the history of the Olympic Games, there were instances of boycotts of the Moscow Olympics and Los Angeles Olympics during the Cold War. In 2008, the current US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked the Bush administration to boycott the Beijing Summer Olympics. In 2014, the US united its allies to boycott the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia with the excuse of the Crimea issue. The President of the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Susanne Lyons has expressed opposition to the argument that American politicians are boycotting the Beijing Winter Olympics. She emphasized that boycotting the Winter Olympics is meaningless, and by looking back on history, similar boycotts have never played any substantial role, but only hurt the interests of American athletes.

The Olympic Games is an arena for athletes, and the Olympic Movement should not be disturbed by politics. The athletes from various countries and regions have been training for 10, 15 or even 20 years and also making preparations for so many years to fight for the opportunity to participate in the Olympic Games. To participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics is the most basic right and the strongest wish of the athletes from the whole world. According to the official data of the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee, more than 14,000 registration applications have been submitted by national Olympic Committees of the US and European countries as of November 17, 2021. The US National Olympic Committee alone submitted 1,528 applications. 

In stark contrast to some Western politicians’ hyping a “boycott” of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, the IOC and many countries have been expressing their blessings and support for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games recently. The IOC, International Sports Federations, and athletes from many countries have all spoken highly of the organization of test matches as well as the stadiums and venues. Dignitaries and Olympic committee officials from countries including Austria, France, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Russia, and Belarus said they support and will attend the Beijing Winter Olympics. IOC President Thomas Bach has repeatedly expressed his confidence that Beijing would successfully deliver the Winter Olympic Games, and hailed the preparation work of the Beijing Winter Olympics as “almost a miracle”, and said that the preparations for the games have progressed smoothly despite the challenges of the pandemic.

Successfully hosting an excellent Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics is China’s solemn commitment to the international community. Despite the influence of the pandemic, China has been working hard to overcome various difficulties, cooperating with various countries and international sports organizations to advance various preparations in an orderly manner. At present, permanent facilities for the 12 competition venues of the Beijing Winter Olympics are completed. Three non-competition venues such as the Winter Olympic Village and the main media center have been put into use. The infrastructure projects such as the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway and the Beijing-Chongli Expressway are in full service. Test matches and logistics tests in the three competition zones are well underway in an orderly fashion. Logistical efforts are really picking up steam. In this Winter Olympics, the features of technology, intelligence, greenness, and frugality will be highlighted, the characteristics of ecology and environmental protection will also be displayed, and the Chinese culture and elements will be perfectly presented as well.

On July 31, 2015, it was at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur that Beijing was awarded the host city of the 24th Winter Olympic Games in 2022. In the blink of an eye, after more than six years of preparations, Beijing has opened its arms and is ready to welcome winter sports athletes from all over the world to participate in the grand event. We believe that under the guidance of the Olympic spirit and with joint efforts of the Olympic family, China will deliver a streamlined, safe, and splendid Olympic Games for the world and promote the healthy development of the international sports cause.