On Monday, Reporters Without Border (RSF) released a damning 82-page report demonstrating the acceleration of China’s misconduct against the freedom of opinion and expression in the Communist country. The report comes at a critical time since China hosts the 2022 winter Olympics in less than two months.
The pressure on China has been building up in recent weeks, with the United States announcing that government officials will boycott the event and will not send an official government delegation to the Olympics. As a reason, White House press secretary Psaki said “US diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC’s egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang, we simply can’t do that.” So far, Australia and New Zealand have followed suit and made similar statements.
On the European side, leaders are not sure yet whether to opt for a boycott. In July however, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the EU leaders and heads of state and government to boycott the winter Olympics over China’s human rights abuses. The EP resolution is not binding.
The report by RSF further highlights how Chinese journalists are forced to use a surveillance app on their smartphone, which collects personal data and has remote access to the device’s microphone. In addition to that, China expelled at least 18 foreign correspondents in 2020.
Read the full report by Reporters Without Borders by clicking on this link.
