The Olympic flame for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games has arrived in China. At the same time, several activists and former Olympians are criticizing that the Games are taking place in a country that is controversial in terms of human rights.
The fire was handed over to the Chinese organizing committee in Athens on Tuesday during a ceremony at the Panathinaikon Stadium, which hosted the first modern Games in 1896. The chairman of the Greek Olympic committee Spyros Kapralos passed a lantern to the vice chairman of the Chinese organizing committee Yu Zaiqing.
The flame will arrive in the Chinese capital later on Tuesday, which will kick off a Chinese torchlight procession that will conclude with the opening ceremony of the Winter Games on February 4. “As a symbol of the Olympic spirit, the Olympic flame will travel to the Great Wall and other parts of China, bringing with it the light of peace and friendship,” Yu said.
human rights
During the ceremony, Greek police closed off access to the stadium for hours and the building was surrounded by security personnel for fear of protests. When the flame was lit on Monday – as tradition dictates – at the ancient site of Olympia, the ceremony was briefly interrupted by protesters who wanted to denounce human rights violations in Tibet and Hong Kong by the Chinese government.
Human rights groups have repeatedly asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone the Games and move the event unless China ends human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups. Some American former Olympians are calling on the current generation to boycott.
The Chinese authorities are accused of subjecting those groups to forced labor and detention in camps since 2016. China denies wrongdoing and says it has set up training centers to fight extremism.
The Winter Games will take place from February 4 to 20, 2022. Beijing will be the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
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