Source: People's Daily
The opening day of the Beijing Winter Olympics is getting closer and closer. Recently, politicians in the United States and other Western countries have frequently manipulated and hyped up, announcing that they will not send diplomatic representatives to attend. Without the attendance of a small number of US and Western politicians, the Winter Olympics will not be able to be organized? Don't be sentimental, look at these 5 facts!
Fact one: Some people come or don't come, and the Winter Olympics are held
Judging from the history of the Olympic Games, a successful and wonderful Olympic Games requires the joint efforts of the Olympic family, and it never depends on whether individual national officials attend or not. In this regard, the Chinese side has repeatedly stated that if it comes or not, it will see the success of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The pretentious posture of individual countries is actually not in their own position.
After the United States insisted on announcing that it would not send an official delegation to the Winter Olympics, IOC member Dick Pound said that this move would have little impact on Beijing. Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin pointed out that the Olympic Games are a grand gathering for the vast number of athletes and sports enthusiasts, not a stage for politicians to put on a show. Some countries have refused to jointly propose the resolution of the Olympic Truce of the Beijing Winter Olympics, and have also written and directed their own farce of "not sending officials to attend," which stands against the Olympic family.
Fact 2: Athletes from all over the world are eagerly looking forward to participating in China
Who do a few Us and Western politicians really represent? In fact, they can't even represent their own athletes. Previously, the proposals of some anti-China figures in Lithuania had been rejected by their own Olympic Committees — for the clearest reason that athletes had short careers, and many of them had spent four years preparing for the Olympics, some longer. It is undoubtedly unfair to them to ask them not to participate in the Olympic Games for political reasons.
At present, the preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics have entered the countdown sprint stage. The international community, including the International Olympic Committee, is highly recognized for the preparation work, and foreign athletes are eagerly looking forward to participating in China, including athletes from countries where individual politicians engage in political manipulation. This is the real "vote with your feet".
Fact Three: The politicization of sport runs counter to the Olympic spirit
Some people in the United States and other countries have made a fuss about the Winter Olympics and linked the decision on whether or not to send government officials to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics to the so-called "human rights" issue; in essence, they are smearing and speculating under the banner of "human rights" and politicizing sports; this clearly violates the "Olympic Charter", especially the principle of political neutrality in sports, and runs counter to the new Olympic maxim of "greater unity." This is destined to be resolutely opposed by the international community.
Sebastian Coe, president of the London 2012 Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and now president of the World Athletics Federation, bluntly stated that the absence of officials was an "empty gesture" and was likely to damage international sport in the long run.
Fact 4: China did not extend an invitation to the countries concerned
Don't look at some American and Western politicians jumping high. They either don't know how to pretend to understand, or they don't even understand the Olympic process. According to Olympic rules, officials from various countries should be invited by their national Olympic Committees, not by the International Olympic Committee and the host Olympic Organizing Committee.
It is their own business for these countries not to send government officials to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics and not to cheer for their athletes. In this regard, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian once said that constantly speculating without being invited is completely self-inflicted sentimentality and grandstanding.
Fact five: The international community is strongly supportive, and only a few countries are performing
Some American and Western politicians perform with a loud voice, but few respond. Not long ago, the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Resolution on the Olympic Truce of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games by consensus, and 173 Member States jointly proposed the resolution, setting a new record for the number of countries mentioned in the truce resolutions of the Recent Winter Olympic Games. Standing against the Olympic family are only individual countries such as the United States, Australia, Britain, and Canada.
Later, IOC President Bach said at a meeting of the IOC's Executive Committee that for a Winter Olympic Games, 173 countries proposing an Olympic Truce resolution is a high number, which is also a special way to express support. On December 11, the IOC also explicitly opposed any politicization of the Olympic Games and sports in its Olympic Summit declaration, saying that the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics would be the beginning of a new era of winter sports worldwide.