Page 2 - Samaranch Foundation News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Its human rights record in question, China turns to an old friend

The International Olympic Committee’s professed neutrality has provided coverage for Beijing, which delivers big audiences and funding in exchange.

When China’s leaders came under pressure to answer questions about the health and whereabouts of Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis star, they turned to a friendly face. They put Peng on a video call with members of the International Olympic Committee, a global sports organization that for years has turned a blind eye to Beijing’s human rights record. True to their reputation, IOC officials did not ask her about her claim that she had been sexually assaulted by a powerful former Communist Party leader, an allegation that led censors to scrub the details from the Chinese internet.

In one corner are the 15 leading Olympic sponsors, many household names like Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Visa

In one corner are the 15 leading Olympic sponsors, many household names like Airbnb, Coca-Cola, Visa, Toyota, Samsung, and General Electric. Together they pay at least $1 billion to the International Olympic Committee, and in the next four-year Olympic cycle the payments could reach $2 billion. They are joined by Beijing's 2022 Winter Olympics, which opens in just under a year. Sponsors want the Olympic connection, but they risk damaging their brand because of reported human-rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs, Tibetans and other minorities in China. In the other corner is a small core of in...