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Should We Boycott the Beijing Olympics? #177026
11/19/2021 01:23 PM
11/19/2021 01:23 PM
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Maybe. But if we do, a "diplomatic" boycott isn't nearly good enough. If we're going to do something to make a point, then we should make the point. By law professor Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy.

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President Biden recently indicated he is considering a "diplomatic" boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing:

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President Joe Biden said Thursday that the United States was considering a diplomatic boycott of next year's Winter Olympics in Beijing over China's human rights abuses, a move that would keep American dignitaries, but not athletes, from the Games.

Speaking to reporters as he hosted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the Oval Office, Biden said backing a boycott of the Olympics in February is "something we're considering."


I very much support the idea of boycotting the Beijing Games in response to the Chinese government's many horrific human rights violations. I laid out the case for doing so in this February post, where I also addressed some possible objections.

But a "diplomatic" boycott is unlikely to accomplish anything of value. Few people care whether various American "dignitaries"- presumably meaning politicians and diplomats - attend the Games or not. People watch the Games to see the athletes compete, not to see dignitaries sitting in the stands. Thus, even if various dignitaries stay away, the Games will go on and be just as much a propaganda showcase for the Beijing regime. Few viewers will even notice the dignitaries' absence, much less connect it with Chinese human rights violations.

By contrast, a true boycott will deny the regime a valuable propaganda opportunity, and make it pay a real price for its actions. It would be even better if the threat of a boycott by liberal democratic states forced the International Olympic Committee to move the Games out of China, for fear of losing TV revenue and undermining the quality of competition. Alternatively, if the IOC refuses to listen to reason, boycotting nations can hold their own alternative games - call them the Freedom Games or something similar. This would further divert viewers from the Chinese Games, and also mitigate the harm to athletes' careers caused by denying them the opportunity to compete in Beijing. I discuss both of these scenarios in my earlier post on this topic.

Time is growing short, as the Games are scheduled to begin on February 4. But, if the political will is there (an admittedly big if), it's not too late to mount a real boycott, as opposed to an essentially worthless "diplomatic" one.


Onward and upward,
airforce

Last edited by airforce; 11/19/2021 01:24 PM.
Re: Should We Boycott the Beijing Olympics? [Re: airforce] #177028
11/19/2021 01:59 PM
11/19/2021 01:59 PM
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The Women's tennis Association (WTA) may pull out of China if they don't produce missing tennis star Peng Shuai.

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The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) will pull out of China, costing the organization “hundreds of millions of dollars” if the Communist government in Beijing won’t account for star player Peng Shuai and investigate her explosive allegations of sexual misconduct by a high-ranking Party official.

WTA chief Steve Simon told CNN on Thursday, “We’re definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it.”


“Because this is certainly, this is bigger than the business,” he added.

Simon insisted that Chinese officials handle the investigation “properly, meaning the allegations must be investigated fully, fairly, transparently and without censorship.”

NBA, take note: This is how it’s done.

Shuai — a former Wimbledon and French Open doubles champion– went missing two weeks ago, just a few days after accusing former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of having sexually assaulted her three years ago.

Weibo, China’s state-controlled social media platform, deleted Shuai’s allegations shortly after she published them.


CNN reported on November 3:

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CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the more than 1,600-word post, and has reached out to Peng for comment, as well as China’s State Council Information Office, which handles press inquires for the central government.

In the post, which reads as an open letter to Zhang, she alleges a relationship over an intermittent period that spanned at least 10 years. Peng says she opened her heart to Zhang, who is now 75 years old.

“Why did you have to come back to me, took me to your home to force me to have sex with you? Yes, I did not have any evidence, and it was simply impossible to have evidence,” she wrote.

“I couldn’t describe how disgusted I was, and how many times I asked myself am I still a human? I feel like a walking corpse. Every day I was acting, which person is the real me?”


CNN also noted that “top leaders of Zhang’s standing remain unapproachable and private even after retirement, which makes reaching him to comment for this story virtually impossible.”

Whatever happens next, the ball is in Beijing’s court. Given Communist strongman Xi Jinping’s increasingly intransigent and oppressive behavior, I’m not expecting any miracles for poor Peng Shuai.


Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: Should We Boycott the Beijing Olympics? [Re: airforce] #177156
12/06/2021 01:38 PM
12/06/2021 01:38 PM
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[Linked Image]

Still only crickets from the NBA.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: Should We Boycott the Beijing Olympics? [Re: airforce] #177157
12/06/2021 01:56 PM
12/06/2021 01:56 PM
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The Democrats are still the party of slavery.

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Democratic leaders are walking back their promise to hold a vote this week in the House on legislation that would sanction China’s use of slave labor and ban the import of goods made using it, according to the legislative chamber’s vote schedule.

Democratic House Rules chair Jim McGovern (D., Mass.) promised last week after a meeting with Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) that the House would hold a vote this week on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, a long-stalled human rights bill that has emerged as a flashpoint in U.S.-China relations. While McGovern indicated on Thursday that the bill would proceed, it is not listed on the House’s official floor schedule.

Democrats in both the House and Senate blocked the bill last week from being included in the annual defense spending package, sparking accusations the Biden administration is quietly lobbying congressional allies to oppose the measure. Climate czar John Kerry, among others, is reportedly concerned the bill would upset China at a critical juncture in the administration’s efforts to ink a climate accord with the CCP.

The ongoing delay is fueling accusations that Democrats are slow-playing the bill at the Biden administration’s request. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act—which would prohibit imports from the Xinjiang region of China, where Uyghurs have been subjected to forced labor, mass surveillance, and detention camps—passed the Senate unanimously in July but has stalled in the House, even though it is widely supported by Republicans and the human rights advocacy community.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), the bill’s chief Senate sponsor, attempted last week to include the legislation as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, the sprawling annual defense funding bill, but that effort was blocked by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), who described the measure as a "poison pill." A senior Rubio aide told the Washington Free Beacon last week that House Democrats are following suit by sitting on the bill....


Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: Should We Boycott the Beijing Olympics? [Re: airforce] #177159
12/07/2021 01:13 PM
12/07/2021 01:13 PM
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The Biden administration has announced plans for a "diplomatic boycott" of the Beijing Olympics. Whoopie, but that won't do jack ****. Boycott the thing completely, and tell the world why we're boycotting them. Hit them where they can feel it, in their pocket book.

Onward and upward,
airforce

Re: Should We Boycott the Beijing Olympics? [Re: airforce] #177223
12/21/2021 03:35 PM
12/21/2021 03:35 PM
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Tulsa
airforce Online content OP
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Peng Shuai now says she was never raped by a government official. I don't know why she changed her mind. I'm sure being "disappeared" for a month and a half had nothing to do with it.

Quote
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai has denied saying she was sexually assaulted, despite a November social media post attributed to her that accused a former top Communist Party official of forcing her into sex.

The Lianhe Zaobao Chinese-language newspaper posted video of Peng it says was taken Sunday in Shanghai in which she said she has been mainly staying at home in Beijing but was free to come and go as she chose.

“First of all, I want to emphasize something that is very important. I have never said that I wrote that anyone sexually assaulted me. I need to emphasize this point very clearly," Peng told the newspaper's reporter.

The reporter did not ask how or why the lengthy and highly detailed Nov. 2 post appeared or whether Peng's account had been hacked.

The paper said it interviewed Peng at a promotional event for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games which begin Feb. 4. She was filmed on the observation deck of a facility where she watched a freestyle ski competition alongside former NBA star Yao Ming and other Chinese sports figures.

Peng dropped out of sight after the accusation against former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli briefly appeared on her verified Weibo social media before being swiftly removed. Screen shots of the post were shared across the internet, drawing widespread concern about Peng’s safety from politicians, fellow tennis stars and the Women's Tennis Association, which announced it was suspending all events in China indefinitely....


Onward and upward,
airforce


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