All Reading
This section contains a curated list of useful articles, investigations, books and other reading materials. The list is updated on a weekly basis and suggestions for additions are welcome.
Starting Points:
Another Uyghur torchbearer at 2008 Beijing Olympics said to be detained
A Uyghur who served as a torchbearer in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and was a medical doctor is serving an 18-year jail sentence, caught in a wider crackdown on the ethnic minority group, Uyghurs living in exile and officials in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region said.
Activists urge UN rights chief to release delayed report on Xinjiang
Now that the Beijing Winter Olympics is over, U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet must release her long-delayed report on alleged violations in China's Xinjiang region against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.
The Forced Smiles of Beijing’s Olympics
At the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics earlier this month, 20-year-old skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang placed the last torch into the snowflake-shaped cauldron. She later said, “My country gave me such an important task, and I must do it very well, with immense pride and joy in my heart.” Indeed, the task was much more important than it seems. But it was more than likely not a voluntary one.
What Happens to Uyghurs After Competing in the Olympics?
Amid international condemnation of its treatment of its Uyghur minority, China selected Uyghur athlete Dilnigar Ilhamjan (Dinigeer Yilamujiang in Chinese) for the honor of lighting the 2022 Olympic flame. The 20-year-old cross-country skier can only hope to fare better than the last Uyghur to be so honored.
Winter Olympics: Games official claims stories of human rights abuses are 'lies’
The Winter Olympics is facing renewed political controversy after a Games official dismissed claims of human rights violations against the Uyghur Muslim population as "lies".
China Is Holding My Uyghur Mother Prisoner. Will President Biden Say Her Name?
The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing is well underway. Millions of people will likely tune in to see the spectacle that China has orchestrated—everything from the choreographed pageantry of the Opening Ceremonies to the man-made snow blanketing the ski slopes. China wants the Olympics to project its economic might and global dominance. But for me, the images on the screen will be a bleak reminder of China's oppression and persecution, on a very personal level.
Beijing 2022 organisers claim stories of Xinjiang human rights abuses are ‘lies’
The Winter Olympics have been plunged into further controversy after Beijing 2022 spokesperson Yan Jiarong dismissed human rights violations among the Uyghur Muslim population as “lies” and insisted Taiwan was part of China. Yan, a former member of the Chinese delegation to the UN general assembly, referred to “so-called forced labour” in Xinjiang in response to one question, before saying China was against the “politicising of sports”.
Suspicion and subjugation in Xinjiang
The Chinese authorities have long treated the region – and its people – with suspicion. The abuses there can no longer be ignored.
Beijing Olympics: Winter Games start amid Covid and boycotts
The most divided Olympic Games in decades gets under way in China on Friday as Beijing becomes the only city to host both the Summer and now the Winter Games.
Beijing 2022 official warns against violations of 'Olympic spirit’
Behaviour by athletes that violates the Olympic spirit or Chinese rules could be subject to punishment, a Beijing 2022 official said, after rights groups voiced concern about the safety of competitors if they protest at next month's Games.
Tory peer to lead boycott of Coca-Cola over role in Beijing Winter Olympics
A Tory peer has vowed to lead a boycott of Coca-Cola products over the company’s sponsorship of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, saying its bid to profit from an event organised by the Chinese government was shameless.
Baerbock demands forced-labor ban, won’t attend Olympics
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called for an EU-wide import ban on goods made with forced labor — a demand that would particularly hit China. Baerbock also said she won't attend the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. Yet she made clear that her decision was personal and not the official line of the German government, and that German foreign ministers usually don't attend Olympic games.
2-time Olympic snowboarder calls for Team Canada boycott of Beijing 2022
Drew Neilson spent a good portion of his youth screaming down snowy slopes all over the world in pursuit of podiums. But now a decade into retirement, he says he can’t help but speak out about the 2022 Beijing Olympics and the International Olympic Committee’s willingness to partner with China, calling for a full Canadian boycott of the games. “I’m really disgusted. I don’t want to even be called an Olympian anymore,” he said from his home in North Vancouver. “The IOC recognizes … human rights as enshrined in the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter and the code of ethics, and they say the IOC takes this responsibility very seriously. But do they?”
‘The world must boycott’: Australian Uyghur calls for more pressure on Beijing Games
Almas Nizamidin, whose wife has been sentenced to seven years in prison in Xinjiang, says a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics is not enough. What Almas Nizamidin knows of his wife’s arrest and disappearance is second-hand: the harried reports relayed by his relatives as it rapidly unfolded. She remains incarcerated in Xinjiang Women’s Prison, sentenced to seven years’ jail on “disturbing social order” charges her family says are baseless.
Canada, U.K. and Australia join U.S. in diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics
Canada will join the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights concerns, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.
IOC says it ‘respects’ US boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that it respects the United States’ decision to diplomatically boycott the forthcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, while defending its “quiet diplomacy” in handling the case of Chinese tennis player, Peng Shuai. “We always ask for as much respect as possible and least possible interference from the political world,” said Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, the IOC’s coordination commission chief for the Beijing Winter Olympics. “We have to be reciprocal. We respect the political decisions taken by political bodies.”
US diplomats to boycott 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
The US has announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China - a move that has been heavily criticised by Beijing. The White House said no official delegation would be sent to the Games because of concerns about China's human rights record. But it said US athletes could attend and would have the government's full support.
2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: China criticises US diplomatic boycott
China has condemned a planned US diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and threatened to retaliate. Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China would take "resolute counter-measures" but did not give further details.
White House announces US diplomatic boycott of 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing
The Biden administration will not send an official US delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing as a statement against China's "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang."
Winter Olympics: IOC says China human rights ‘not within’ remit
A senior member of the International Olympic Committee has swatted aside suggestions that China should be challenged over its human rights record before the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.