China Olympic Boycott in Discussion

Drawing by Remon Wang (Rebel Pepper)

Drawing by Remon Wang (Rebel Pepper)

Noah Civitarese, Staff Writer

Due to China’s recent controversy concerning the genocide and sterilization of Uyghur and Kazakh people by state authorities and the Hong Kong situation. Many countries are discussing a potential boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

“What China is doing is very horrible and it should be looked into,” says junior Benn Sobbing. Western countries like the United Kingdom and Canada also share this opinion and are currently discussing the Olympic boycott. The United States however will not be joining in talks of boycott and will be participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics, saying that, “It’s better to go there and dominate,” says a U.S Official. 

China claims that the statements made against them about the situation concerning the Uyghur and Kazakh people are “malicious lies” made to “smear the image of China.” But what would this mean for the 2022 Winter Olympic games? 

If countries do end up boycotting and do not participate in this upcoming Olympic games, then would the quality of the competition decrease? Canada themselves have earned a total of 199 medals, with 73 of them being gold at the Winter Olympic games. Other countries boast similar numbers like Finland and Norway, who are also looking to boycott China. Some say that these countries should confront China’s problems but should not bring the Olympics into it. 

“I think the Olympics should be a separate issue and shouldn’t be tied into other things… rather than boycott the Olympics, move it somewhere else” says junior Ezekiel Gordan. China’s controversy may end up ruining the upcoming Olympics and may change who will host in the future.