IPAC MPs condemn ‘Olympics of Shame’ on eve of Beijing Opening Ceremony

An international coalition of over 70 legislators from North America, Europe and Australia have pledged to redouble efforts to hold the Chinese government accountable for its human rights violations in the Uyghur Region, Hong Kong and elsewhere in China on the eve of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. 

The legislators, all members of the cross-party Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), said in a statement, the full version of which is attached: 

“We cannot stand idly by while a major world government perpetrates what a growing number of legal investigations believe to be Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, and torture in the Uyghur Region.”

Before going on to say: 

“International sporting events ought to be remembered for their moments of extraordinary human achievement and international unity. The Beijing 2022 Olympics will rightly be remembered with shame.”

The legislators noted that many governments had answered calls made by IPAC to stage a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, but called for further action including import bans on goods made with forced labour and blocks on investments in entities perpetrating human rights abuses in the Uyghur Region. 

Prominent signatories to the letter include Senator Jeff Merkley, Chair of the US Congressional Executive Commission on China; Reinhard Bütikofer, Chair of the European Parliament’s China delegation and Sir Iain Duncan-Smith MP, former leader of the UK Conservative Party. 

IPAC Co-Chair Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP said: 

“While the world watches the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony the Genocide against the Uyghurs continues and brave young pro-democracy activists remain locked up in Hong Kong jails. These Games truly will be remembered as the Chinese Communist Party’s Olympics of shame.” 

“It is right that the British government and other world leaders are staying away from the Games, but we must be doing much more. We must be acting to stop goods made with Uyghur forced labour entering our markets and must stop our banks from pumping dirty money into the perpetrators of the abuses.”

IPAC MEP and former world record breaking paralympian David Lega said: 

“While it is right that athletes should take part in the Games, we as parliamentarians cannot stay silent while the Chinese government perpetrates human rights abuses on an industrial scale. It is our responsibility to call out the Chinese government’s violations of international law in the Uyghur Region, Hong Kong and elsewhere in China, and will continue to speak up for those who have been silenced by this authoritarian regime.”

Marie Rimmer, IPAC Member and UK Labour Party MP said: 

“The founding principle of the Olympic charter is to ‘preserve human dignity’. Nowhere could this be further from the truth than the Uyghur Region, where Uyghurs and other groups are subjected to state-sponsored forced labour, sexual abuse and mass internment. The Chinese government hopes to use the Beijing Olympics to distract from these abuses. It is right that the UK has joined the diplomatic boycott of the Games, but this is not enough. Uyghur forced labour goods cannot be allowed to enter the UK market and our banks must stop financing the perpetrators of these abuses.”

Notes: 

  • A full copy of the statement, with signatories, is included below.
  • IPAC has led action calling for a diplomatic boycott of the Games in more than ten legislatures, with success in Canada, Australia, the UK, Belgium, Lithuania and Germany. For a full list of actions see: https://ipac.global/beijing-2022-winter-olympics/
  • The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China is an international cross party group of legislators pushing for democratic countries to take a tougher stance on China. A full list of IPAC members and other information is available at www.ipac.global. 

STATEMENT ON THE OPENING OF THE 2022 BEIJING WINTER OLYMPICS

Today, at the beginning of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, we remember those suffering under the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party. 

We should not allow the Games to distract from the persecution of Tibetans, Christians, Falun Gong Practitioners and other ethnic and religious minorities, nor will we stay silent as the Chinese government dismantles Hong Kong’s way of life, threatens Taiwan and coerces Lithuania, Australia and other countries through trade. 

We cannot stand idly by while a major world government perpetrates what a growing number of legal investigations believe to be Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, and torture in the Uyghur Region.

We express our gratitude to all government ministers and diplomats who answered the call to decline invitations to attend the Games, but these actions do not go far enough. 

Democratic countries must take tangible steps to hold the Chinese government accountable for its violations. We call upon our governments to: 

  • Demand the urgent release of the report into violations in the Uyghur Region conducted by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights;
  • Place import bans on all goods from the Uyghur Region  unless it can be credibly demonstrated that they are free of forced labour;
  • Block firms from investing in entities perpetrating abuses in the Uyghur Region; 
  • Impose sanctions on Chinese government officials responsible for violations in China and Hong Kong. 

International sporting events ought to be remembered for their moments of extraordinary human achievement and international unity. The Beijing 2022 Olympics will rightly be remembered with shame.

Senator Eric Abetz (Australia) 

Senator Kevin Andrews MP (Australia) 

Senator Alex Antic (Australia) 

George Christensen MP (Australia) 

Cassy O’Connor MP (Australia) 

Senator Kimberley Kitching (Australia)

Senator James Paterson (Australia) 

Georges Dallemagne MP (Belgium)

Samuel Cogolati MP (Belgium)

Hon. Irwin Cotler (Canada) 

Senator. Pierre J. Dalphond (Canada)

Senator Leo Housakos (Canada)

Tom Kmiec MP (Canada)

Senator Pavel Fischer (Czechia)

Helena Langšádlova MP (Czechia)

Uffe Elbæk MP (Denmark)

Reinhard Bütikofer (European Parliament)

Engin Eroglu MEP (European Parliament) 

Anna Fotyga MEP (European Parliament) 

Sandro Gozi MEP (European Parliament)

David Lega MEP (European Parliament) 

Miriam Lexmann MEP (European Parliament) 

Viola von Cramon-Taubadel (European Parliament) 

Senator Olivier Cadic (France) 

Ms. Frédérique Dumas (France)

Senator André Gattolin (France)

Constance Le Grip (France) 

Michael Brand MdB (Germany)  

Senator Malcolm Byrne (Ireland) 

Senator Mary Seery Kearney (Ireland)

Senator David Norris (Ireland) 

Senator Barry Ward (Ireland)

Senator Lucio Malan (Italy)

⁨Dovilė Šakalienė MP (Lithuania) 

Kati Piri MP (Netherlands)

Sjoerd Sjoerdsma MP (Netherlands)  

Tom van der Lee MP (Netherlands) 

Simon O’Connor MP (New Zealand)

Louisa Wall MP (New Zealand) 

Guri Melby MP (Norway)

Lisa Mazzone MP (Switzerland)

Nicolas Walder MP (Switzerland)

Joar Forssell MP (Sweden)

Elisabet Lann (Sweden)

Maria Nilsson MP (Sweden)

David Josefsson MP (Sweden)

Lord (David) Alton (United Kingdom)

Baroness (Natalie) Bennett (United Kingdom) 

Chris Bryant MP (United Kingdom)

Alistair Carmichael MP (United Kingdom)

Judith Cummins MP (United Kingdom)

Janet Daby MP (United Kingdom)

Geraint Davies MP (United Kingdom)

Sir Iain Duncan-Smith MP (United Kingdom)

Nusrat Ghani MP (United Kingdom)

Wera Hobhouse MP (United Kingdom) 

Afzal Khan MP (United Kingdom)

Tim Loughton MP (United Kingdom)

Craig Mackinlay MP (United Kingdom) 

Layla Moran MP (United Kingdom) 

Siobhain McDonagh MP (United Kingdom) 

Baroness (Catherine) Meyer (United Kingdom)

Layla Moran MP (United Kingdom) 

Yasmin Qureshi MP (United Kingdom) 

Marie Rimmer MP (United Kingdom)

Henry Smith MP (United Kingdom) 

Representative Tony Gonzales (United States) 

Representative Young Kim (United States)

Senator Jeffrey A. Merkley (United States)