Ethnic Uyghur skier Dinigeer Yilamujian (L) was chosen by China to help light the Olympic cauldron
(AFP/Manan VATSYAYANA)
Thu, February 17, 2022, 11:40 PM·3 min read
The IOC called an immediate meeting with Chinese organisers to remind them to keep politics out of the Beijing Olympics, president Thomas Bach said Friday, after a local spokeswoman hit back at "lies" about Xinjiang.
"This problem we did not ignore," the International Olympic Committee chief said, a day after a spokeswoman for the local organising committee, BOCOG, hit back at questions from foreign media about Taiwan and human rights in Xinjiang.
"We were in touch with BOCOG immediately after this press conference and then both organisations, BOCOG and the IOC, have restated the unequivocal commitment to remain politically neutral, as it is required by the Olympic Charter," Bach said.
The United States has led a diplomatic boycott of the Games by some Western nations over rights concerns in China, especially the fate of the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang.
Campaigners say at least one million Uyghurs and other Turkic-speaking Muslims have been incarcerated in camps in Xinjiang, while there are also allegations of mandatory sterilisations of women and forced labour.
"These issues are irrelevant to the Winter Games, but I still feel obliged to make a quick comment again," BOCOG spokeswoman Yan Jiarong said Thursday, after foreign reporters twice asked about Xinjiang.
"The questions are based very much on lies. Some authorities have already disputed such false information with a lot of solid evidence."
China vehemently denies all allegations over its treatment of Uyghurs and maintains the camps are vocational training centres aimed at reducing the appeal of Islamic extremism.
The ethnic Uyghur skier chosen by Beijing to help light the Olympic cauldron at the Games' opening ceremony, meanwhile, rebutted claims of rights abuses Friday, telling a state-run tabloid that Western media outlets were "spreading rumours".
"If there is what the West claimed to be 'genocide' ... I would not have had the chance to appear at the Olympic Games," Global Times quoted cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang as saying.
"Choosing me as one of the torch bearers displays the truth about the harmony of the big Chinese family," the 20-year-old added.
The United States had criticised the skier's selection as an attempt to "distract" from the mistreatment of the Uyghurs.
The interview with Yilamujiang came as Human Rights Watch released a new statement saying Chinese government censorship had "seriously marred" the Beijing Games.
Yan, the BOCOG spokeswoman, was also bullish on the question of Taiwan. China claims the self-ruled democratic island as part of its territory to be retaken one day, by force if necessary.
At all Olympic Games, athletes from Taiwan compete under the banner of "Chinese Taipei".
"This is something that we really have to take a solemn position on," Yan said, following a question about Taiwanese athletes at the Games and their attendance at Sunday's closing ceremony.
"What I want to say is that there is only one China in the world.
"Taiwan is an indivisible part of China and this is a well-recognised international principle and well recognised in the international community.
"We are always against the idea of politicising the Olympic Games."
pst/gj/cwl/leg
Thu, February 17, 2022, 11:40 PM·3 min read
The IOC called an immediate meeting with Chinese organisers to remind them to keep politics out of the Beijing Olympics, president Thomas Bach said Friday, after a local spokeswoman hit back at "lies" about Xinjiang.
"This problem we did not ignore," the International Olympic Committee chief said, a day after a spokeswoman for the local organising committee, BOCOG, hit back at questions from foreign media about Taiwan and human rights in Xinjiang.
"We were in touch with BOCOG immediately after this press conference and then both organisations, BOCOG and the IOC, have restated the unequivocal commitment to remain politically neutral, as it is required by the Olympic Charter," Bach said.
The United States has led a diplomatic boycott of the Games by some Western nations over rights concerns in China, especially the fate of the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang.
Campaigners say at least one million Uyghurs and other Turkic-speaking Muslims have been incarcerated in camps in Xinjiang, while there are also allegations of mandatory sterilisations of women and forced labour.
"These issues are irrelevant to the Winter Games, but I still feel obliged to make a quick comment again," BOCOG spokeswoman Yan Jiarong said Thursday, after foreign reporters twice asked about Xinjiang.
"The questions are based very much on lies. Some authorities have already disputed such false information with a lot of solid evidence."
China vehemently denies all allegations over its treatment of Uyghurs and maintains the camps are vocational training centres aimed at reducing the appeal of Islamic extremism.
The ethnic Uyghur skier chosen by Beijing to help light the Olympic cauldron at the Games' opening ceremony, meanwhile, rebutted claims of rights abuses Friday, telling a state-run tabloid that Western media outlets were "spreading rumours".
"If there is what the West claimed to be 'genocide' ... I would not have had the chance to appear at the Olympic Games," Global Times quoted cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang as saying.
"Choosing me as one of the torch bearers displays the truth about the harmony of the big Chinese family," the 20-year-old added.
The United States had criticised the skier's selection as an attempt to "distract" from the mistreatment of the Uyghurs.
The interview with Yilamujiang came as Human Rights Watch released a new statement saying Chinese government censorship had "seriously marred" the Beijing Games.
Yan, the BOCOG spokeswoman, was also bullish on the question of Taiwan. China claims the self-ruled democratic island as part of its territory to be retaken one day, by force if necessary.
At all Olympic Games, athletes from Taiwan compete under the banner of "Chinese Taipei".
"This is something that we really have to take a solemn position on," Yan said, following a question about Taiwanese athletes at the Games and their attendance at Sunday's closing ceremony.
"What I want to say is that there is only one China in the world.
"Taiwan is an indivisible part of China and this is a well-recognised international principle and well recognised in the international community.
"We are always against the idea of politicising the Olympic Games."
pst/gj/cwl/leg
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