Free Republic

In the last regularly scheduled daily press conference for the Beijing Olympics organizing committee, a committee spokesperson got political in response to reporters' questions, saying that reports of human rights abuses against the Uyghur ethnic minority in Xinjiang were "lies." Olympic organizing committee spokesperson Yan Jiarong and International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson Mark Adams faced questions relating to controversial issues that Chinese officials have previously refused to speak about during the games, The Associated Press reported. However, three days before the games were set to close, Yan spoke out, saying questions about reports that forced labor was being performed in...

BEIJING (AP) — The gold medalist said she felt empty. The silver medalist pledged never to skate again. The favorite left in tears without saying a word. After one of the most dramatic nights in their sport's history, Russia's trio of teenage figure skating stars each enter an uncertain future. Her Olympics and life turned upside down by a doping case, world record holder Kamila Valieva faces a possible ban and a coach whose first response to her disastrous skate Thursday was criticism. "Why did you let it go? Why did you stop fighting?" cameras caught Eteri Tutberidze — the...

A few unpatriotic athletes may not destroy our nation, but a complete lack of national culture and purpose will. In an ideal world, Gu would be seen as the embodiment of the American dream and fill the hearts of every patriot with pride as she ascended the medal podium. Unfortunately, Americans will get no such opportunity. Gu has decided to represent geopolitical rival China in this year’s games. Gu has said she feels “just as American as I am Chinese ” but chose China over America on the world stage. Gu is not alone. Many American-born athletes, some with no...

Eileen Gu, the American-born skier who won a gold medal for her mother’s homeland China, reportedly raked in tens of million dollars in Chinese endorsement deals — even before her considerable success at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. The site Insider cited a report from CBN Data, a Shanghai-based research firm, as saying Gu brought in 200 million Yuan (or over $31 million) in 2021 — before her gold medal run. Yicai Global, an outlet in Shanghai, counted 23 endorsement deals for Gu heading into the Olympics, including Estee Lauder cosmetics, Cadillac, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany. According to various outlets,...

The world knew Xi Jinping and the People's Republic of China would use the 2022 Olympic Winter Games for propaganda purposes; that was expected. All countries hosting the games use the opening ceremony to put their best foot forward. However, even the most jaded China skeptics were taken by surprise when a Uyghur athlete marched out carrying the PRC's flag during the opening ceremony. One can only wonder if cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang was forced to carry the flag or if she is the worst turncoat since Benedict Arnold. The level of hypocrisy, deceit and hubris Xi demonstrated in having...

An update on Dinigeer Yilamujiang, plus an honest assessment on the state of Chinese ice hockey in this special edition of the China Sports Insider Podcast.It's possible, of course, that others have been selected above her on form/merit, but we're told she was chosen as a torch bearer because of her "achievements", so something doesn't add up… https://t.co/EBrrKQ1dWb — Mark Dreyer (@DreyerChina) February 12, 2022 In today’s special edition of the China Sports Insider Podcast, hosts Mark Dreyer and Haig Balian begin by discussing Yilamujiang (also known as Dilnigar Ilhamjan), the 20-year-old ethnic Uyghur from Xinjiang who was thrust from...

Well-orchestrated measures win kudos from participants, a template for future games As the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics marched into its 10th day, it was the first day where no confirmed positive COVID-19 case had been notified within the closed loop management of the Games, and the event has reported no cluster infection so far. China's well-orchestrated COVID-19 prevention policies have not only staved off major infections within the closed loop which is hosting more than 15,000 people from all over the world, but have also won kudos from a wide range of participants, who hailed the loop as the "world's...

After leading Team USA to a silver medal in the team figure skating competition and winning his first Olympic gold in the men’s individual event, Nathan Chen has been slammed on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. The 22-year-old Chinese American was labeled a “traitor” on the social media platform for choosing to represent the United States, and was even told to “get out of China.” After his victory Thursday, some on Weibo complained that Chen was “too white” and Americanized, citing a long list of examples where they thought Chen was “insulting China” with his actions. Chen has previously...

Team USA’s Erin Jackson is a medal contender in the 500 meters. Her teammates from the ‘New Jax City Rollers’ will be watching. Don’t take my word for it. Listen to a couple of Jackson’s former teammates: Shady Godiva and Fancy Schmancy. “She’s just tough,” Shady Godiva says. “Super strong,” says Fancy Schmancy. Shady and Fancy know. Before Jackson made her case as the fastest woman on ice, before she became one of Team USA’s best hopes for gold, she was a star in the rollicking world of roller derby, trading collisions and bruises with teammates who maintained aliases like...

BEIJING (AP) — Erin Jackson became the first Black woman to win a speedskating medal at the Winter Olympics. A gold one, at that. Jackson won the 500 meters Sunday with a time of 37.04 seconds, giving the American speedskating program its first medal of the Beijing Games and first individual medal since 2010. But this one meant much more than national pride. The 29-year-old Jackson, a former inline skater who switched to the ice shortly before the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, joined fellow American Shani Davis as the only Black athletes to win long-track speedskating medals at the Olympics. Now,...

The habits of tyranny are hard to break. China expected that the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing would once again impress the world with China’s ability to build shiny new venues and organize vast and impressive mass ceremonies. But, instead, what are becoming known as the “Genocide Games” is exposing the autocratic authoritarianism of its governing officials and the downright shabby nature of its treatment for foreign athletes, some of whom dare to complain in public. Unlike Chinese citizens, they don’t have to worry about the social credit scores once they leave the Middle Kingdom. From Yahoo Sports: A Finnish...

After doing over 350 interviews in my career, I rarely get shaken by a guest. That rare event occurred today when I interviewed Dr. Li-Meng Yan. She told me things from her various sources, many of which are in China with direct knowledge, that blew my mind. Is the CCP developing another bioweapon? The answer to that is almost certainly yes, but Dr. Yan went a step further. She explained that they are already unleashing one onto the world through the Olympic games in Beijing today. Before I get into the details, it’s important to understand that she and her...

On Feb. 8, gold medalist Eileen Gu posted on Instagram to announce her win at the Beijing Winter Olympics. As social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are banned in China, many Chinese have questioned why she, but not the general public, could use Instagram in mainland China. “Anyone can download a VPN its literally free on the App store,” Gu replied, according to a screenshot of her now-deleted post. Gu, who was born in San Francisco and raised by a single mother, has made headlines for her decision to compete for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) despite...

Top U.S. House conservatives have introduced a legislative proposal to formally sanction thousands of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials, including Chinese dictator Xi Jinping and his entire family, Breitbart News has learned exclusively. Titled the “Stop CCP Act,” McClain’s bill would level debilitating sanctions on CCP officials, including blocking them from getting visas for U.S. travel and financial sanctions blocking them from using or accessing certain assets. It would sanction every member of the CCP’s “National Congress,” the CCP’s highest governmental body. The National Congress of the CCP holds sessions every five years with the most senior members of the...

NBC has publicly addressed its low-rated broadcast of the Genocide Games, with a senior network executive describing the situation as “difficult” while blaming the pandemic for the low level of enthusiasm.In a conference call with reporters Thursday, NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua laid out a grim assessment of the past week.“For us, it’s been difficult. There’s no way around this,” he said, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.“The fact that we’ve been able to bring these Games to life during a pandemic with only a six-month window between the two [Olympics], the ratings are — of course we...

In the span of a week, three American-born athletes of Chinese descent have been thrust into the spotlight at the Beijing Winter Olympics -- to very different reactions in China. All three were trained in the United States and are only a few years apart in age, but their paths diverged on the way to the Games: freestyle skier Eileen Gu and figure skater Zhu Yi chose to compete for China, while Nathan Chen, another figure skater, opted for Team USA. The young athletes have found themselves embroiled in deteriorating US-China relations, during one of the most divisive, tightly controlled...

Nathan Chen put the ghost of PyeongChang emphatically behind him, delivering a whopping 218.63-point free skate to become just the second American man to win men's singles in 30 years -- and cement his status as the best men's figure skater in the world.

Gu’s Instagram page is a collection of motivational and inspirational slogans, a scrapbook designed to present a specific, curated image of her to the world. One user commented on an otherwise innocuous post: “Why can you use Instagram and millions of Chinese people from mainland cannot, why you got such special treatment as a Chinese citizen. That’s not fair, can you speak up for those millions of Chinese who don’t have internet freedom,” user “cilla chan” wrote. “Anyone can download a vpn,” Gu replied, “it’s literally free on the App Store”. The website Protocol noted that multiple users fired back...

If Olympic athletes test positive for covid-19 upon arrival or during their time in China, they are placed in mandatory isolation but especially the food in isolation may not be what the athletes are used to or need. The Olympic Summit has therefore taken action to help the Norwegian athletes who are or may end up in quarantine hotels in China and when Secretary-General of the Norwegian Curling Association Pål Trulsen went to Beijing last week, he brought with him large amounts of food, NRK writes. The food is meant to improve conditions for the isolated Norwegian Olympic athletes while...

BEIJING, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The drug scandal engulfing 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva is inhumane and the adults responsible should be banned forever, skating legend Katarina Witt said. "What they knowingly did to her, if true, cannot be surpassed in inhumanity and makes my athlete's heart cry infinitely," said Witt, an Olympic champion in 1984 and 1988. Valieva on Monday won Olympic gold with her Russian team mates, but it was revealed on Friday that she had earlier failed a drug test. The 15-year-old's gold medal and Games future now hangs in the balance as the International Olympic...