[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 126 (Thursday, July 26, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE STATE OF PLAY: GLOBALIZED CORRUPTION, STATE-RUN DOPING, AND 
                          INTERNATIONAL SPORT

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 26, 2018

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, we recently held a hearing on 
state-run doping to address the corruption and human rights violations 
that it produces in international sport. Athletic doping is really 
low--that anyone can cheat in a competition and then take any 
satisfaction or pride in winning is really beyond comprehension, to say 
nothing of the profound unfairness to the other competitors and fans 
and damage to the sport.
   But state-run doping compounds these injustices with serious human 
rights violations--it naturally leads to pressuring athletes to dope, 
and threatening whistleblowers.
   I thank Yuliya Stepanova and Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, represented 
yesterday by Jim Walden, for their remarkable courage in revealing the 
Russian government's state-run doping program, as well. It is not only 
the rest of the world, but Russia itself is indebted to them. In 
blowing the whistle on what their government was doing to cheat in 
international sporting events, they acted as true patriots--for any 
country, it is better to lose a medal than to lose the country's honor. 
And this state-run doping campaign is totally unworthy of the great 
spiritual heritage of Russia, and takes something away from every 
Russian person, as it makes it impossible for them to take an honest 
and natural pride in their country's performance in sporting events.
   Since this hearing addressed globalized corruption in sport, I also 
mentioned a whistleblower who was not with us yesterday--Dr. Xue 
Yinxian, a Chinese doctor who worked with China's Olympic team in the 
1980s and at one point served as the chief medical supervisor to the 
Chinese gymnastic team.
   Dr. Xue claims that 10,000 athletes were involved in a Chinese 
state-run doping program during the '80s and '90s. They had to accept 
the drugs, she says, or ``face punishment or criticism.'' She adds, 
``If you refused to dope, you had to leave the team.'' She has also 
discussed the abhorrent practice of doping young athletes--as young as 
eleven years old--resulting in devastating physical effects. Given the 
extent of the program, she concludes that all medals won by China at 
this time should be returned. Like too many whistleblowers, she has 
been forced to flee her home for fear of retaliation. She has 
commented, ``Anyone against doping damaged the country and anyone who 
endangered the country now sits in prison.''
   Dr. Xue is now seeking asylum in Germany. It would be a terrible 
thing if her claim were to be denied and she is forced to return to 
China. We were also greatly honored to have had Dagmar Freitag, a 
German Member of the Bundestag and Chairwoman of the Bundestag's Sports 
Committee, with us yesterday, and I inquired into where Dr. Xue's 
asylum claim stands.

                          ____________________