U.N., IOC and sponsors under fire as Beijing Games begin

February 3, 2022

Hi China Watchers. Happy Tiger Year! The 2022 Beijing Games open Friday so we’re tackling the key issues from the perspective of four China Olympics watchers. We’ll also look at lawmakers’ concerns for U.S. athletes in Beijing, sound out GEORGE SOROS on Chinese President XI JINPING’s weakness and peek behind the digital curtain of a Chinese state media “public petition.” And stick around to the bottom for our latest China book pick in the new “One Book, Three Questions” section. Got a book to recommend? Tell me about it at pkine@politico.com.

Let’s get to it. — Phelim (Author)

China Watcher convened an expert panel Wednesday to discuss the most pressing issues affecting the 2022 Beijing Olympics, which open Friday. The experts — Sen. JEFF MERKLEY (D-Ore.), co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China; SOPHIE RICHARDSON, China director at Human Rights Watch; NOAH HOFFMAN, two-time U.S. Olympian and board member of Global Athlete; and MELISSA CHAN, a journalist who covered the 2008 Beijing Summer Games — unpacked why this month’s Beijing Games are such a hot-button issue of international concern. We’ve distilled highlights of the exchange below, edited for length and clarity. And you can access the audio for the entire event here.

Read the full article: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-china-watcher/2022/02/03/u-n-ioc-and-sponsors-under-fire-as-beijing-games-begin-00005032