China complains to the IOC about the “politicization of sports” over the anthem incidents

China expressed concern to International Olympic Committee (IOC) through “politicization of sporting events” following incidents such as the US-led diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Games and anthem errors involving teams from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The issue was raised during a visit to Beijing this weekend by the IOC president, Thomas Bachwhere he met with the Chinese chief, li qiangand the president of the Chinese Olympic Committee, Gao Zhidanlocal media reported.

Li claimed that China “has always attached great importance to the development of sportshas actively participated in international Olympic activities and has had fruitful cooperation with the IOC,” reported the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post.

The prime minister also promised to “work with the IOC to oppose the politicization of sports and make more contributions to the Olympic movement.”

For his part, Bach promised to “uphold the Olympic spirit and to oppose the politicization of sports,” according to state agency Xinhua.

Among the incidents that angered China was the diplomatic boycott by the US and some of its allies of the Winter Olympics held in Beijing in February last year, due to alleged human rights abuses in China’s western region. Xinjiang.

China has denied the allegations and said it opposes any attempt to politicize sporting events.

There have also been mistakes in the Chinese national anthem at international competitions involving teams from Hong Kong.

In November, a volunteer played a song related to the 2019 anti-government protests in Hong Kong instead of the Chinese national anthem at a rugby sevens tournament in South Korea.

In February, something similar happened at the Ice Hockey World Championships in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous regional government then issued guidelines to prevent such incidents from happening again and forced Google to make the Chinese national anthem the top result for related searches.

In addition, China has expressed concern about the possible use of Taiwan’s flag and anthem at international sporting events.

The IOC has allowed Taiwan to compete under the name “Chinese Taipei” without presenting itself as a sovereign nation, but it has warned it could lose its right to attend international events if it changes its name to Taiwan.

Beijing has considered Taiwan a rogue province since the Kuomintang nationalists retreated there in 1949 after losing a civil war to the communist army.

During his visit, Bach also congratulated China on the success and legacy of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which recorded a surplus of 350 million yuan (51 million dollars, 46 million euros), China announced this Saturday.