Ryan Nicol
GOP Sen. Rick Scott is joining with Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts on a resolution calling for China to lose hosting rights for the 2022 Olympics.
The resolution calls on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to relocate the Winter Olympics “unless the Government of the People’s Republic of China demonstrates significant progress in securing fundamental human rights, including the freedoms of religion, speech, movement, association, and assembly.”
Scott added a statement Wednesday explaining the need for the resolution.
“Communist China should not be allowed to host the 2022 Olympic Games while simultaneously running concentration camps, violating human rights and oppressing the people of Hong Kong,” Scott argued.
“The Olympic Games are an incredible opportunity to allow the world’s best athletes to represent their countries and unite our nations, and should not be hosted by one of the world’s worst human rights abusers. Today, the Senate is sending a clear message to the IOC: stand up for freedom and urge Communist China to do the right thing, or find a new home for the 2022 Olympic Games. It’s not about politics, it’s about human rights.”
Added Markey, “China’s human rights abuses and crackdown on democracy leave it well short of the Olympic Charter standard that calls for the preservation of human dignity and denounces discrimination of any kind. I stand in solidarity with those oppressed by the Communist Party of China and call for a rebid of the 2022 Games unless Beijing changes course and addresses its violations of fundamental rights.”
Sen. Marco Rubio has also signed on as a sponsor, joining nine of his Senate colleagues.
“The Chinese government and Communist Party represses the basic freedoms of the Chinese people and commits horrific human rights abuses, including detaining over a million Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. No country should have the privilege and responsibility of hosting the Olympics or any other international sporting event while flagrantly violating their citizens’ most fundamental rights. China should be no exception,” Rubio said.
The resolution cites China’s imprisonment of ethnic Muslims and its recent crackdown against Hong Kong protesters among the numerous reasons China should be replaced as the 2022 host.
Scott has been lobbying the IOC to make the move for months. He has also criticized multiple companies for their involvement in the Chinese market such as Microsoft, Apple and the NBA.
The resolution also cites China’s lack of human rights improvement since the nation hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008.
Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Mike Braun and Todd Young of Indiana, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma and Martha McSally of Arizona are also sponsoring the resolution.
Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Doug Jones of Alabama are backing the measure as well.
Scott’s distrust in China has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks as he repeatedly also criticizes the nation for their handling of the coronavirus outbreak, for which he claims the Chinese government is covering up actual effects and numbers.
