China faces public-relations debacle as politics, pandemic engulf Winter Olympics
Boycott calls over human-rights abuses fail to derail games
By Valerie Richardson and Matthew Paras - The Washington Times - Updated: 4:50 p.m. on Wednesday, February 2, 2022
China scored a marketing coup with the 2008 Summer Olympics as the newly prosperous nation strutted its stuff on the global stage. But the 2022 Winter Games that begin Friday are looking more like a marketing misstep for an aggressive global power that is getting hammered over human rights abuses and public health blunders.
Calls to snub what critics brand the “genocide games” have all but overwhelmed Beijing’s feel-good narrative as global audiences prepare to tune in for Friday’s opening ceremony.
The political backlash, including a diplomatic boycott and pressure on corporate sponsors, threatens to overshadow nearly 3,000 athletes as they enter an isolation bubble surrounded by concerns over pandemic safety, free speech and even potential arrest.
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