Tibetan and Uyghur activists hold placards and wear masks during a protest against Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in front of the Olympics Museum in Lausanne on June 23, 2021 as some 200 participants took part to the protest. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
As the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) has reaffirmed its unwavering support to the Beijing Winter Olympics – despite a diplomatic boycott of the games by some western leaders – a leading political analyst has blamed the west for hypocrisy.
Institute for Global Dialogue political analyst Sanusha Naidu, said China – under the stewardship of President Xi Jinping, has drastically changed from that which hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 2008.
“If you cast your mind back to 2008, there was a similar approach by western countries around China and its role in Darfur.
“In the modern era of Jinping’s openness and economic development, it is the first time for China is hosting a mega event like the Olympics.
“It in 2008 Summer Olympics, hosting the event caused a lot of anxiety, with China having invited African civil society thinktanks as well as other thinkers to Beijing before the games.
“If you fast forward today, there seems to be a renewal of that by western countries of boycotting China because – making reference human rights of minorities.
“They are bringing this issue again, but what they should know is that it is not the same the country you saw in 2008.
“It is telling the rest of the world that you cant keep on using this as a tactic because at the end of the day it comes back to the question around this geo-political competition.”
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Naidu said US President Joe Biden “has been hawkish on China”.
“In the democracy conference Biden hosted at the end of last year, he chose countries he deemed fell within the standard that the US considered a democratic nation. Who is not democratic?
“This again, demonstrated a blinkered way of approaching global politics. “Right now, the world is divided into the US and China – also divided into Europe, US and China, with all of this coming to a head.
“You are now dealing with a China that is concerned about its image and public diplomacy – not just going to be goaded into the space.
“The US is not particularly in a well-poised position to call out any other countries.
“The west is using mega events like the Winter Olympics to demonstrate geo strategic intentions, rivalry and competition,” said Naidu.
She said the western-led attack on China showed hypocrisy.
Said Naidu: “Questioning China’s credibility is about the West having to deal with its own identity crisis of no longer being the centre of power.
“The whole world after 1945 was dominated by western actors.
“Now, it is no longer that centre of power and these are the reactions to it.”
SASCOC has endorsed the event – fully supporting the position adopted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that Olympic Games and the participation of the athletes were beyond politics.
The Winter Olympics take place next month.
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