Opinion: Chinese Government Is Undermining Olympic Spirit

An opinion article in The Washington Post condemns China’s decision to revoke the visa of a former Olympic speed skater, apparently because of the charity he founded and for speaking out on behalf of people in the Darfur region of the Sudan.

Olympic gold medalist Joey Cheek had his visa revoked the day before he was to fly to Beijing, the newspaper says. Mr. Cheek is a co-founder of Team Darfur, a group of athletes that helps victims of war in Darfur.

He was given no reason for why his visa was revoked, the newspaper says, adding that other athletes who belong to Team Darfur have been denied visas to China or have been pressured by their Olympic committees to stop associating themselves with the group.

Sally Jenkins, author of the opinion piece, says that China is undermining the purpose of the Olympics by revoking the visas.

“The Chinese government has continually called for the world to suspend its judgments of its international policies — from its support for the Sudanese regime to its crackdown on Tibetan monks — during the Games,” she writes. “And yet it’s the Chinese state that continually throws us all into a political cauldron with actions like this one. All we have to go on in forming impressions of China is the behavior of its government.”

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