Commissioner Adam Silver, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, and others in the NBA have no problem denouncing America as bad, while rolling over for the communist Chinese government, no matter how egregious its human rights abuses.
But U.S. Sen. Rick Scott wants the rest of the world to stand firm against Beijing.
The Florida Republican has asked President Joe Biden for a meeting to discuss lobbying the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 Winter Olympics out of China.
“The horrific human rights abuses perpetrated by China’s communist government against its own people cannot be ignored. Under no circumstance should the global community give Communist China an international platform to whitewash its crimes, which is what will happen if they are allowed to host the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing,” Scott wrote.
Scott noted that more than 1 million Muslim Uyghurs in China are being held “in concentration camps designed to erase their religious and ethnic cultural identities.” Scott maintained that many Uyghurs are being tortured, utilized as “slave laborers,” or subjected to “systematic” sexual assault within the prisons.
“The Chinese Communist Party, controlled by General Secretary Xi (Jinping), is committing genocide against these innocent people, simply because of their religious beliefs. It is a disgusting and unacceptable violation of basic human dignity,” Scott argued.
The freshman senator also highlighted China’s abuses in Hong Kong.
There, Scott wrote, the Chinese Communist Party has labeled dissenters to Beijing’s crackdown as national security threats, as pro-democracy activists face prison time for challenging the Xi administration.
Scott also pointed out that the Chinese government in August issued an arrest warrant for an American citizen, who was living in the United States, defending dissidents in Hong Kong.
“For the past two Congresses, bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate calling on the IOC to move the 2022 games out of Beijing unless the People’s Republic of China demonstrates significant progress in securing fundamental human rights,” Scott said in the letter.
“Unfortunately, Senate Democrats blocked its passage last year. Hundreds of human rights groups have called on the IOC to move the games, and government officials in other Western countries, including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, have shared their concern about giving an international platform to the Chinese Communist Party to spread propaganda.”
Scott insisted that he did not favor a U.S. boycott of the games. That, he said, would hurt the athletes who seek to compete.
Still, Scott said, “This is about human rights, which we all have a responsibility to address.”
“These games should be a stage upon which we celebrate athletic talent and our shared values. This cannot be achieved if we ignore the grotesque abuses of the Chinese Communist Party and allow the games to be hosted in Beijing, furthering the oppression we all unequivocally condemn. This is also about the safety of all athletes and attendees,” Scott maintained.
“Working together, we can seize this opportunity to show that America is the world’s greatest supporter of freedom, democracy, and human rights for all while preserving the marvel that is and must always be so perfectly captured by the unity created by the Olympic Games.”
Last month, Scott introduced a resolution that urged the IOC to relocate the games. GOP Sens. Mike Braun, Marco Rubio, Todd Young, Tom Cotton, Jim Inhofe, and Marsha Blackburn all joined him. Scott also has asked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to side with America against Beijing.
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