House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a warning to American athletes traveling to China: they would be risking retaliation from the “ruthless” Chinese government if they attempted to protest at the Olympic Opening Ceremony or other forums during the Winter Games.
Several world leaders representing western nations are not attending the Beijing Winter Games in protest of human rights violations the Chinese government is committing against their Uyghur population. Uyghurs are a largely Muslim ethnic minority group in China, and a significant percentage of their population has been detained in internment camps since 2017.
Despite these clear acts of protest by diplomats, Pelosi warned that criticism from within China’s borders is a different story. “I would say to our athletes: You’re there to compete. Do not risk incurring the wrath of the Chinese government, because they are ruthless,” Pelosi said in a public statement.
While it hasn’t been established how China would respond to protests from athletes, teams have been warned by Chinese officials that they could face discipline from the International Olympic Committee and even be pursued by China’s judicial system.
Pelosi acknowledged the “temptation” to speak out against what’s going on, “But I also worry about what the Chinese government might do to their reputations, to their families.”
Unless some next-level editing tricks were employed, it seems like the Opening Ceremony went off this morning without any sort of interruption by athletes.
