Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Monday, U.S. Congressman Michael Waltz (FL-6) introduced a resolution calling on the United States Olympic Committee to withdraw from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing unless the International Olympic Committee (IOC) finds an alternative site. The decision to introduce this resolution follows a number of significant human rights violations carried out by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

“The Chinese Communist Party has carried out a number of heinous acts in the last year alone that should disqualify them from hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics.,” said Rep. Waltz. “The world cannot legitimize the CCP’s acts of genocide in Xinjiang, destruction of the democratic rights of Hong Kong, and dangerous suppression of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan that cost lives by sending delegations to Beijing.”

The resolution lists a number human rights violations committed by the Chinese Communist Party that should be considered by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the IOC that include:

·        The genocide and mass internment of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang providence of China.

·        The undermining of democratic rights and dismantling of ‘one country, two systems’ framework in Hong Kong.

·        The CCP targeting and control of religious practices in China.

·        The failure to report the outbreak of the coronavirus to the WHO and suppression of reports from medical doctors in Wuhan.

It is now estimated that up to 1.8 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Hui, and others have been arbitrarily detained in a system of extrajudicial mass internment camps where they are subjected to forced labor, torture, and political indoctrination.

As a result of these gross human rights violations, the resolution urges the following:

1.    Recognition, celebration and support for the commitment, dedication, and patriotism of the 2022 United States Winter Olympics Team athletes, coaches, trainers, and staff.

2.    That the United States Olympic Committee propose the transfer of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games to a site other than within the People’s Republic of China.

3.    That the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should transfer the 2022 Winter Olympic games to a site other than within the People’s Republic of China.

4.    That, if the International Olympic Committee rejects such a proposal, the United States Olympic Committee and the Olympic Committees of other countries should withdraw from the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

5.    The Secretary of State is requested to transmit a copy of this resolution to the government of each country that is represented on the International Olympic Committee.

Click here to read Congressman Waltz’s op-ed in today’s Washington Examiner.