Though the Biden administration is repeatedly saying that it doesn’t want another Cold War, the US is overtly pursuing the policies of the Cold War. The superpower is reiterating that it wants no confrontations, but competitions with China; however, the world could easily understand how the US has been picking quarrels with China in recent years.
To the utter surprise of analysts and observers, the more China is moving ahead in the global arena, the more the US is getting wild and obvious to deter China’s expedition to development and achievements. In doing so, the US never minds to even sow seeds of discord among the international community. By unilaterally claiming not to send any officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics(so-called “diplomatic boycott”), the US has proven once again how much lower it can stoop to deter China.
The world has not joined the US in the so-called boycott and that the US has been sidelined over the issue in the global community, but the US has not stopped showing its true color to the world. People have realized the superpower sheds crocodile tears for human rights and its uproar and outcry is hollow. If the US cares even a little about humanity and their rights, it could not try to polarize the world in the name of boycotting the Beijing Olympics in a time when the world needs stronger unity more than ever due to the horrific onslaughts of the coronavirus pandemic.
People accurately think that the US has stabbed the efforts of global unity in the back and trampled on universal hopes for concerted fights against the pandemic. The superpower has futilely tried to drive mankind to uncivilized ancient ages because even in the civilized ancient age, people used to maintain truce and not to attack their enemies during the Olympics.
The US has also stood against the goal, core values and spirit of the Olympics. The four goals of the Olympic Games were written by the International Olympic Committee in 1896. The second goal is to educate young people through sport in a spirit of better understanding between each other and of friendship, thereby helping to build a better and more peaceful world. While the goal of the Olympics is forging friendship for a better world, how can the US speak of boycotting it?
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The second goal holds the Olympic Spirit as building a peaceful and better world requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity, and fair play. In the spirit of the three values of Olympics--excellence, friendship and respect, its goal is to help foster better relationships between communities and nations, helping people to live in harmony with each other. By diplomatically boycotting the Beijing Olympics, the US has also breached the values of the games.
Moreover, on July 20, 2021, the session of the International Olympic Committee approved a change in the Olympic motto that recognizes the unifying power of sport and the importance of solidarity. The change adds the word ‘together’ after an en dash to ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’. The new Olympic motto now reads: ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’.
In his remarks before the unanimous vote, IOC President Thomas Bach explained the link between the change and the original motto: “Solidarity fuels our mission to make the world a better place through sport. We can only go faster, we can only aim higher, and we can only become stronger by standing together— in solidarity.”
The importance of unity and solidarity is also reflected in the IOC’s global campaign, entitled ‘Stronger Together’. The campaign emphasizes the IOC’s message of solidarity and the belief that the world moves forward only when it moves together, and the irresistible power of the Olympic Games to unite people. But unfortunately, the US has proven that it doesn’t give a tinker's dam to the much-sought-after global unity and solidarity.
President Joe Biden and some politicians are hyping a boycott of the Beijing Games. But the media reported that China never planned to invite US and Western politicians who hype the boycott. As, according to Olympic rules, officials are invited by their respective National Olympic Committee to attend the Olympic Games, whether the US officials will come to the Beijing Olympics or not is the US’ own business. But, despite not even being invited, the US announcement of a diplomatic boycott made the superpower a laughing stock in the world.
Though the US is sparing no efforts to spoil the successful holding of the Beijing Winter and Paralympics, China has taken all-out preparations for making the world’s foremost sports events a success just as the country earned global accolades by holding the Summer Olympics in its capital in 2008. Despite thoroughgoing antagonisms by the US, China has already won the hearts of people from around the world with its finest arrangements for the games. The world is now waiting for the historic success of the Beijing Olympics, which would be another slap in the face of the superpower.
- Md Enamul Hassan is a news editor at China Media Group in Beijing, China.