As the Winter Olympics in Beijing are set to begin this week, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) has joined a bipartisan coalition of 25 House Members in sending a letter to President Biden in response to Chinese officials threatening punishment for athletes who engage in prohibited speech during the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
In the letter, the lawmakers requested information on the steps being taken by the Biden administration to ensure U.S. athletes are not targeted by the Chinese government for political reasons.
The lawmakers wrote, "Leading up to the games, the Chinese government has intensified its persecution against those who speak out against the human rights violations committed by the regime. In recent weeks, the Chinese government has arrested human rights advocates and shut down news organizations. Additionally, the Chinese government persists in denying and spreading false information about its campaign of genocide against religious minority groups in Xinjiang. China has also taken forceful actions in recent years to crack down on free speech, including retroactively charging individuals not living in China for alleged violations of its laws regulating speech. These behaviors severely undermine confidence in our athletes' physical safety from politically motivated retribution while they are in Beijing to compete."
They continued, "Athletes to the Olympics serve a unique role in representing their home country. As such, your administration has a responsibility to ensure these athletes are secure from arbitrary retribution against them while they are competing."
The full letter can be found here.
Original source can be found here.
