In October, after decades of dismissal, and amid crescendoing opposition to the “Genocide Games,” the International Olympic Committee finally sat down and listened. Sixteen months before Beijing 2022, officials opened their ears. And they heard voices that represented the oppressed. Voices that spoke for millions unheard. Voices of Uyghurs; Hong Kongers; Tibetans; democratically-inclined Chinese. Victims of Beijing’s authoritarianism.
Activists had long sought the meeting. Five of them huddled on that October day to tell the IOC why the 2022 Winter Olympics could be so damaging. They shared first-hand testimony and widely reported facts: That the Chinese government has arbitrarily detained millions of Xinjiang Muslims, and cracked down on freedoms throughout the region.