Relocate the Beijing Olympics or condone genocide

Thus far, the world’s response has eerily recalled the failed reaction to dictator Adolf Hitler’s atrocities in the 1930s and 1940s. Despite admirable efforts by the United States and other democracies to galvanize action in support of the Uyghurs, many countries and international organizations remain silent or feign ignorance on the ongoing Uyghur genocide out of concern regarding Chinese retribution. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has given China the honor of hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics, just as it allowed Nazi Germany to host the Summer Olympics in 1936. But although the international community may not have understood the full extent of Hitler’s crimes and intentions in 1936, the CCP’s crimes against the Uyghurs and its escalating human rights abuses throughout mainland China—not to mention the destruction of civil liberties in Hong Kong—are well documented. The international community must ensure the Olympic Games does not take place in the shadow of concentration camps once again. The International Olympic Committee must relocate—and if necessary, postpone—the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. If that does not work, then there should be a diplomatic boycott of the games.