Summer 1936, a triumphant Adolf Hitler inaugurates the Olympic Games in Berlin. Delegations of international athletes march proudly through the stadium, which displays the banners of the Nazi party. Foreign reporters comment on the scene with a certain kindness, even with enthusiasm and admiration. A huge crowd cheers the athletes by doing the Nazi salute…
Winter 2022, a beaming Xi Jinping inaugurates the Beijing Winter Olympics. Delegations of international athletes, notably Canadians and Quebecers, parade proudly through the stadium displaying the banners of Xi Jinping’s Communist Party. Foreign reporters, some of whom were delegated by Radio-Canada, commented on the event in a complacent, even admiring tone.
The world according to Xi Jinping in 2022… As if we disregarded the ruthless nature of his totalitarian regime. This tyrannical power which spies on the slightest deeds and gestures of Chinese citizens (even those exiled abroad), which imprisons members of the Uighur people in concentration camps (oh sorry, “training camps”!), which represses Tibetans and Hong Kongers, and which muzzles and imprisons the whistleblowers at the origin of the pandemic. This political regime which aims to establish its model of undemocratic governance throughout the planet.
By choosing Beijing as the host of the 2022 Games, the International Olympic Committee has missed the opportunity to do some serious soul-searching. The participating countries, too. We are witnessing here a grotesque masquerade. The IOC should have rejected Beijing’s candidacy outright.
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