China warns foreign Olympic athletes against speaking out on politics at Winter Games

One member of China’s Olympics organizing committee warned on Tuesday against foreign athletes making political speech in violation of Chinese law while at the 2022 Winter Games.

The announcement, saying the athletes could face punishment, highlighted ongoing concerns about the country’s restrictions on political expression. 

“Any expression that is in line with the Olympic spirit I’m sure will be protected,” said Yang Shu, the deputy director general of international relations for the Beijing Organizing Committee. “Any behavior or speech that is against the Olympic spirit, especially against the Chinese laws and regulations, are also subject to certain punishment.”

China’s stance, generally speaking, does fall in line with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) established rule against political protest at the Olympic games.

The IOC announced last year as well before the Summer Games in Tokyo that athletes who were responsible for staging protests would be punished, disregarding U.S. calls to permit respectful protests over human rights issues.

China’s rule, though, appears to be more restrictive than that of the IOC, raising some questions regarding how Beijing plans to interpret and enforce the measure.

Specifically, rule 50 of the IOC charter forbids “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda,” but Yang said on Tuesday that simply “speech” could be subject to punishment. He cited Chinese law, which is more restrictive than that of many other countries.

The warning from Beijing came as discussions in the West are being planned for next month over potential political restrictions and surveillance at the Games. At a seminar hosted by Human Rights Watch on Tuesday, several speakers said they were advising against athletes criticizing China’s human rights record over their time competing in Beijing for their own safety.