[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 15, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4532-S4533]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       2022 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES

  Mr. COTTON. Mr. President, 8 short months from now, the greatest 
athletes in the world will gather together and compete in the 24th 
Olympic Winter Games.
  Usually, Americans await this awe-inspiring event with enthusiasm and 
excitement. This year, though, we await it with apprehension and, 
frankly, disgust. That is because next year's games will be held in the 
People's Republic of China--a Communist nation that enslaves workers, 
puts women and children in concentration camps, sterilizes women, and 
unleashed a global pandemic that killed millions and upended the global 
economy.
  The 2022 Games will be located in Beijing--a 5-hour train ride away 
from the Wuhan lab where the coronavirus pandemic likely originated and 
a day away from Xinjiang Province, where the Communist Party is 
committing genocide against ethnic and religious minorities and has 
herded more than 1 million innocent souls into concentration camps.
  The Chinese Communist Party may believe that extravagant pageantry 
will distract us from the reality of what they have done, but no amount 
of rushed urban cleaning can wipe away the moral stain that permeates 
the capital city of China. No golden torch can redeem the moral 
bankruptcy of communism. No fireworks display can make us forget that 
Beijing is the epicenter of evil in the world. It is no exaggeration to 
state that the Chinese Communist Party is the purist, most powerful, 
and most pervasive force for evil in the world.
  Locating the Games in Beijing will enrich and embolden the Chinese 
Communist Party and strengthen their hold on their captive people. That 
is why the International Olympic Committee should immediately--
immediately--rebid the 2022 Games and award it to a free democratic 
nation. I will note that this is entirely feasible.
  If the Tokyo Summer Games can be postponed a year due to an event 
that was no fault of Japan's Government, we can certainly rebid the 
Winter Games on short notice if China is perpetrating crimes against 
humanity.
  I would observe that the Winter Games are far smaller and easier to 
move than the Summer Games. The Winter Games include fewer than half 
the number of sports, nearly 4,700 fewer medals, only one-quarter the 
number of events, and less than half the competing country.
  There are many, many Western democracies that could easily, easily 
accommodate a relocation of the Games on short notice. Some of our 
European partners, like France, Switzerland, Sweden, and Italy have 
more than enough winter sporting venues and hotel capacity and 
transportation capacity to host these Games with 8 months' notice. Many 
of them have hosted modern Games before. Many of them host national and 
international winter sporting competitions.
  If the IOC fails to rebid the games, however, the United States 
should fully embrace an economic and diplomatic boycott. No U.S. 
official, company, or spectator should participate in and legitimize 
China's despotic and totalitarian actions. American companies should 
not profit off of genocide and oppression or help line the pockets of 
the Communist Party officials perpetrating these crimes against 
humanity, these grotesque atrocities.
  If--and it is a big if--we can keep our athletes safe, they should 
compete in the spirit of the great Jesse Owens. They should stare 
tyranny in its eye and defeat China in every field of competition. But 
the only Americans--and I mean the only Americans--who should step foot 
on Chinese soil are the athletes, their coaches, their essential 
support staff, and the necessary personnel to ensure their safety.
  If the games remain in China, it will pose unique challenges to the 
safety, security, and privacy of those limited number of Americans who 
do attend, though. The U.S. Government must be fully prepared for the 
dangers to which these athletes and supporting personnel would be 
exposed.
  First, the Chinese Government operates the most extensive, 
sophisticated, and invasive police state anywhere on Earth. Members of 
the American delegation should expect the Chinese authorities to bug 
their hotel rooms, their vehicles, and to hack all of their electronic 
devices.
  Second, China has an ignominious history of arbitrarily detaining 
American citizens and other Western visitors to gain political and 
economic concessions, placing exit bans on foreign nationals. Members 
of the American delegation could be detained during their visit.
  Former Assistant Secretary of State David Stilwell apparently shares 
these concerns, stating that ``spectators have good reason to beware Xi 
Jinping's Beijing Winter Olympics.''
  And I would add especially those, like, say, the Houston Rockets' 
general manager, Daryl Morey, who have spoken out against the Chinese 
Communist Party's abuses in Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang, and many other 
places.
  Third, the Chinese Communist Party's infringement of privacy knows no 
limits, and our Nation's representatives should prepare our athletes 
and their staff accordingly.
  China even considers DNA collection as a vital intelligence-gathering 
objective, wants to use DNA data to catapult Chinese biotech companies 
to global market dominance, and has reportedly conducted research on 
biologically enhancing its soldiers.
  During the Olympics, of course, the DNA of thousands of world-class 
athletes could prove an irresistible target to Communists in Beijing, 
whose evil sometimes seems to verge on science fiction. So whether 
through the ruse of COVID testing or testing for performance-enhancing 
drugs, China will have the opportunity to steal the very DNA of our 
elite athletes--young men and women, in many cases young boys and 
girls, who deserve our protection.
  For all of these reasons, and many more, President Biden should 
forcefully call on the International Olympic Committee to rebid the 
2022 Winter Games.
  We must be ready if they fail to do so. That is why I have sent the 
President a letter urging him to prepare for the various challenges 
that our athletes will confront if they compete in

[[Page S4533]]

Beijing and asking if the Communist authorities are cooperating with 
U.S. efforts to protect our athletes.
  If the safety, security, and privacy of our athletes cannot be 
guaranteed, the United States should, and indeed must, adopt a total 
and complete boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
  No American should be put in harm's way for the sake of a sporting 
event. President Biden ought to make these terms absolutely clear to 
Communists in Beijing, and we should not compromise on them.
  The athletes we send to the Olympics are not Democrats or 
Republicans. They do not wear donkeys or elephants on their uniform. 
They have no party insignia. They are Americans, wearing the Stars and 
Stripes, bearing the standard of our great Nation. It is the 
responsibility of our government to protect these champions, and I hope 
this is an area in which our divided government can unite.

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