The representative of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee during the online briefing warned athletes about the inadmissibility of statements into acute social and political topics during the Olympiad. This is reported by South China Morning POST.
Deputy General Director of the Department of International Relations of the Beijing Organizing Committee Yang Shu added that the Olympians must comply with the rules of the Olympic Charter and the National Laws of China during games. “Any behavior or speeches that contradict the sports spirit and especially Chinese laws and rules is also punished,” Shu.
Australian human rights activist Craig Foster believes that Chinese athletes should be treated by such a position of the official authorities, because the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seeks to limit their voice. Human rights defenders from the PRC, in turn, warned the participants of the competition from provocative statements and violations to ensure their safety.
At the briefing, the Chinese representative argued his position in the fact that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) also has punishable for violations of the rules that prohibit “any demonstrations, as well as political, religious or racial agitation” during games. The commission of the Commission of the IOC states that any violation of these rules will be considered by the National Olympic Committee of the Athlete Country, then the International Federation and, finally, the IOC. The decision on disciplinary punishment will be accepted in each case.
On January 18, director of the CIR RUSSIA Sergei Naryshkin announced the US State Department attempts to discredit the Olympics in Beijing. The head of the intelligence service also recalled that Washington used the same methods on the eve of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014.
Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that he did not see serious risks in the Winter Olympics in Beijing, taking into account the strict epidemiological measures and other steps taken by the Chinese authorities on the eve of the competition.