在联合国193个国家中,截至12月13日共有4个国家宣布将与美国一道外交抵制北京冬奥会。

有两句英文谚语可以用来形容美国此次利用即将到来的北京冬奥会妖魔化中国的行为。一为much ado about nothing(无事生非),二为empty vessels make most noise(空容器最响,意指爱吹牛说大话)。在美国游说加入其外交抵制未果的国家中,法国总统马克龙在拒绝美国时,正确的形容了美国的举动为“微不足道”的。

然而,这用词可能太客气了。美国的外交抵制虽然不足为奇,但显然有悖于奥运会精神和奥林匹克宪章。

更重要的是,美国的新闻声明里,没有提到国际奥委会所有成员国都应遵守的奥林匹克主义原则;而美国早年就因抵制1980年莫斯科夏季奥运会而违反了奥运精神。

如国际奥委会网页首页所述:“奥林匹克运动的目标是通过没有任何歧视的体育运动来教育青年,从而为建设一个和平和更美好的世界做出贡献,并体现相互理解、友谊、团结和公平竞争的奥林匹克精神”

在同一网页里还指出:“今天(12月2日)在纽约举行的第76届联合国大会(GA)上,173个会员国以协商一致方式通过了题为‘通过体育和奥林匹克理想建设和平、更美好的世界’的决议。”

值得一提的是,美国虽不是这项由中国提出的决议之共同提案国,但也没有反对。

“非常自豪地介绍北京2022年奥林匹克休战决议。感谢联合国大会一致通过,以及173个成员的压倒性共同赞同。中国高度重视冬奥会和残奥会。北京做好准备,欢迎所有来自世界各国的选手。”中国常驻联合国代表张军在推特上写道。

在介绍该决议并旨在阻止美国或任何其他国家将奥运会政治化的演讲中,国际奥委会会长托马斯巴赫强调了,在这个分裂的世界中,和平与团结的重要性:“只有奥运会超越所有政治、文化和其他差异,我们才能完成这一使命。”

这只有在奥运会在政治上保持中立并且不成为实现政治目标的工具时才有可能,不仅是国际奥委会主席已预计到美国会以任何借口或托词在国际舞台上抹黑中国。

体育不应成为政治工具

俄罗斯代表也警告说,体育不应成为政治工具或威胁的手段,更不能用来作为制裁的权力工具。

同样,白俄罗斯代表也认为,一些个别政治家试图利用即将举行的冬奥会做为“政治舞台”和煽动抵制,是不可接受的。他还提出了一些不良的先例,表明体育赛事很容易成为意图不良政客手中的分裂、压迫和政治阴谋的工具。

在为外交抵制辩护时,拜登政府重炒特朗普对中国在新疆涉嫌“种族灭绝”的指控。

事实上,西方媒体是选择略过提及,直到2018年特朗普为赢得2020年总统大选寻找课题前,当时的特朗普、美国国务院和美国媒体普遍都支持中国在新疆这个存在著族群冲突和恐怖主义的地区推行的社会经济政策,以将属穆斯林的维吾尔族人融入社区里。当时,美国是支持中国在新疆推动的和平发展努力,甚至认同目前被宣传为侵犯人权的再教育营。
 
很多国家都很清楚新疆的实况。因此,对近期美国和西方媒体精心策划的反华宣传,绝大多数的国家包括穆斯林世界,都在联合国中为中国辩护。

今天,拜登为了在美国中期选举前,扭转其历史新低的民望,正诉诸当年特朗普任总统时的谩骂和指责式“扩音器外交手段”,为中国的内部政策添油加醋。

由于拜登在国内和外交政策上的失败,以及其无能的领导,被共和党对手羞辱为“瞌睡乔”或称之为“习登”——后者是贬损拜登早期政治生涯中的亲中立场——因此,拜登和民主党的领导人迫切需要解决国内的反拜登和亲共和党的政治热潮。

中国人对政府信任度最高

但要以炒作中国人权课题来赢得选票,谴责中国和其他类似要走独立自主路线、有别于西方发展道路的国家之前,最好看看美国和西方侵犯人权,以及违反联合国的人权和基本自由原则的一面。

美国及其西方盟友是最擅于宣导种族主义和意识形态以虚构假想敌的先驱和大师,就如当年打造伊拉克萨达姆侯赛因为邪恶敌人般。拜登或许能通过抵制冬奥对抗中国,从而赢得一些美国选民的支持。但如果其目标是推翻中国政府,这将是一场毫无意义的胜利。

现实情况是,超过10亿中国人民将力阻美国和西方为了维持其主导地位而打压中国的努力。虚伪的利用基本上已过时的彭帅事件和北京冬奥会来进一步孤立中国,或许会在对华盛顿、伦敦、堪培拉和渥太华媒体而言,可成为好新闻炒作数天。

但在中国和世界各地的严谨观众中,这无疑将进一步加强中共领导中国的政治合法性和信任度,而根据一项独立调查,中国人对政府的信任度是世界上最高的。依据最新的爱德曼2020年全球信任度调查报告,80%的中国人信任他们的政府——这是世界最高的。相比之下,美国、英国、澳洲和加拿大的政府分别只获得了42%、45%、61%和59%的公众信任。

林德宜《北京冬奥:美国抵制将适得其反》原文:Beijing Winter Olympics: US Boycott Has Backfired

Out of the UN’s 193 countries, a total of 4 to date have announced that they will join the US in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics

There are two English sayings that can be used to describe the US’s latest attempt to demonize China using the coming Beijing winter olympics. The first is that it is “much ado about nothing” and the second is that “empty vessels make most noise”. Among countries that the US has unsuccessfully lobbied to join its diplomatic boycott, French Prime Minister Macron in refusing has rightly described the US move as “insignificant”.

However these descriptions may be too kind. Although the US diplomatic boycott is no surprise,it is clearly contrary to the spirit of the games and the Olympic charter.

It is significant that the US press statement makes no mention of the principle of olympism which all member countries of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are to abide by; but which the United States had earlier violated with its boycott of the Moscow 1980 summer olympics.   

As stated in the IOC’s web front page:The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.

The same IOC front page also notes that:The resolution entitled “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal” was adopted today by consensus and co-sponsored by 173 Member States at the 76th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly (GA) in New York.

Noteworthy is the fact that the US was not a co-sponsor of this resolution initiated by China although it did not oppose it.

"So proud to introduce the Olympic Truce resolution for Beijing 2022. Thanks all for the consensual adoption by the UNGA, with the overwhelming co-sponsorship of 173 members. China attaches great importance to the Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Beijing is ready to welcome all from the world," Chinese Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun twittered.

The IOC’s Position on Politicising Sports

In a speech introducing the resolution and aimed at discouraging the United States or any other country from politicising the games, IOC President.Thomas Bach stressed the importance of peace and solidarity in our divided world:

“We can only accomplish this mission if the Olympic Games stand above and beyond all political, cultural and other differences. This is only possible if the Olympic Games are politically neutral and do not become a tool to achieve political goals,

The IOC President is not the only one who anticipated that the United States would use any excuse or pretext to discredit China in the international arena. .  

The representative of the Russian Federation warned that sport should not become a political tool or an instrument of intrigue, such as blackmail, and it must never be used as an instrument of power involving sanctions.

Similarly the representative of Belarus described some individual politicians’ attempts to “put on a show” and demagogue against the forthcoming Olympic Games as equally unacceptable. He also noted dangerous precedents of how easily sporting events can become an instrument of discord, pressure and political intrigue in the hands of dishonest politicians.

Justifying the Beijing Boycott

When justifying the diplomatic boycott, the Biden administration has revived Trump’s charge of China’s alleged record of ‘genocide’ in Xinjiang. In fact, the western media has conveniently omitted to mention that until 2018 when Trump was looking for issues to win the presidential elections, the then President, the US State Department and the US media generally, were supportive of China’s socio-economic policies aimed at integrating the Uygher Muslim community in a region with a legacy of ethnic conflict and terrorism. This support can be seen in the US favourable views of Chinese efforts aimed at securing Xinjiang’s peaceful development and even approval of the re-education camps currently hyped as the center of human rights abuses.   

Many countries are fully aware of what is happening in Xinjiang. Responding to the recent US and western media orchestrated anti China propaganda, an overwhelming majority of countries, including from the Muslim world, have defended China notably in the United Nations.  

Today Biden, looking to prop up his popularity with the American public which has plummeted to record low levels ahead of the mid-term election season, is resorting to the Trump megaphone tarring China’s internal policies.

Denigrated by his Republican opponents for his domestic and foreign policy failures and his anaemic leadership, “Sleepy Joe” aka “Xiden” - the latter name a derogatory reference to his alleged pro-China stance in his earlier political career - the US President and Democratic Party leaders are desperate for issues to counter the anti Biden and pro Republican party political upsurge.

But in manipulating human rights to win votes, they would do well need to look into the mirror of US and western human rights transgressions before denouncing China and other nations determined to walk a path of development that is independent, free and different from that of the West; and yet conforms to the UN principles of human rights and fundamental freedoms.    

The US and its western allies are pioneers and masters in racist and ideological propaganda and the manufacturing of fabricated enemies such as Saddam Hussein. Biden may win some support from American voters through the weaponizing of the winter olympics against China. But it will be a meaningless victory if the objective is to take down the Chinese government.

The reality is that over 1 billion Chinese stand in the way of the US and western efforts to maintain their dominance and deny China its place in the world. The hypocritical efforts to capitalize on the now largely abandoned Peng Shuai story and Beijing’s Winter Olympics event to further isolate China may make good press in Washington, London, Canberra and Ottawa for a few days.

But in China and among critical audiences around the world, it will further swing the barometer of political legitimacy and trust in support of the CPC’s leadership of the country which is already the highest in the world according to independent surveys. According to the latest Edelman Global Trust Barometer of 2020,  80% of China’s citizens trust their government - the highest level in the world. In contrast, the governments of the US, the UK. Australia and Canada received 42%, 45%, 61% and 59% of public trust respectively.

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