
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Athletes participating in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics will have to fly into the city on temporary or chartered flights, the games’ organizers said on Friday, amid host nation China’s stringent pandemic travel restrictions that places a limit on the number of flights entering the country.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Noting that the Covid-19 pandemic situation was still “severe and complicated,” organizing committee official Zhang Liang&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/beijing-games-bring-athletes-chartered-temporary-flights-2021-12-10/+" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;athletes and other attendees will be flown in on chartered flights from cities such as Hong Kong, Paris, Tokyo and Singapore.</p>



<p>After arriving in Beijing, attendees and athletes will have to enter a “closed loop”—a bubble which will be strictly separated from the rest of China—and remain there for their entire stay.</p>



<p>At least 15 inbound flights and 13 outbound flights will fly into and out of Beijing every day, Zhang said.</p>



<p>The organizers added they will work with Chinese and foreign airlines to help arrange these temporary flights.</p>



<p>The Winter Games are scheduled to begin on February 4 and like the summer games in Tokyo this year, all events will take place without any crowds in attendance.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>In October, the games’ organizers outlined their plans for a “closed loop” system for Olympic participants in accordance with the Chinese government’s stringent ‘zero-Covid’ pandemic policy. Similar to the Tokyo Games this summer, the Winter Olympics has put out a so-called “<a href="https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Olympic-Games/Beijing-2022/Playbooks/The-Playbook-Athletes-and-Team-Offcials-October-2021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">playbook</a>” that outlines the various pandemic related rules and penalties that participants may face for non-compliance. The closed loop is designed to completely isolate everyone involved in the event from the rest of China, to prevent any possible outbreaks. This system will include dedicated transport, housing and training facilities and fully vaccinated athletes will be required to enter the loop immediately upon arrival in Beijing. Unvaccinated participants will be required to serve a mandatory 21-day quarantine in a specially designated facility. According to the playbook, athletes who fail to comply with the rules will face immediate disqualification from the games and expulsion from the country.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



<p>Besides the challenge from Covid-19, the Beijing 2022 games will take place on the backdrop of a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/12/08/canada-joins-diplomatic-boycott-of-beijing-olympics-here-are-all-the-countries-participating/?sh=2a51c632113c">growing diplomatic boycott</a>&nbsp;of the event by several western nations. Earlier this week, the U.S. became the first country in the world to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/teakvetenadze/2021/12/06/heres-what-the-us-olympic-diplomatic-boycott-means/?sh=5a13276b69d4">announce</a>&nbsp;a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in response to China’s human rights record. The boycott—which is largely symbolic—will see Washington not send any “any diplomatic or official representation,” to the event. Several other nations have announced similar diplomatic boycotts since then including the U.K., Canada and Australia.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/beijing-games-bring-athletes-chartered-temporary-flights-2021-12-10/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beijing Games to bring in athletes on chartered, temporary flights</a>&nbsp;(Reuters)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.espn.in/olympics/story/_/id/32484469/beijing-creates-closed-loop-winter-olympics-isolating-participants-public" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beijing creates &#8216;closed loop&#8217; for Winter Olympics, isolating participants from public</a> (ESPN)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/"></a><em><strong>By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


Landscape Projects For Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Upgraded

Beijing Winter Olympics Will Use Chartered Flights To Fly Athletes In Amid Covid-19 Travel Curbs


<p><strong>TOPLINE</strong> The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will not pressure China over its human rights record ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, a senior official said on Wednesday even as several human rights groups and some U.S. lawmakers have called for a boycott of the games over the Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghurs and its crackdown on Hong Kong.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>While addressing the press in Australia, IOC vice president John Coates said confronting a sovereign nation on human rights issues was not within the committee’s remit.</p>



<p>Coates said that IOC’s remit was only limited to ensuring that no human rights abuses take place in respect to the conduct of the Games within the national Olympic committees or “within the Olympic movement.”</p>



<p>He further added that the IOC has no ability to go into any country and tell them what to do and all it can do is ensure that the conditions set out in a host contract are followed.</p>



<p>When asked about the IOC’s decision to intervene in Afghanistan—where the body said it helped around 100 members of the “Olympic community” leave the country on humanitarian visas—Coates insisted that was within the committee’s remit.</p>



<p>Coates also said he did not see any point in any country boycotting the games as such moves in the past had achieved nothing.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>In May, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Games which means no official delegation would be sent to Beijing while athletes are still allowed to compete. Dominic Raab, the British deputy prime minister, has also indicated he will not attend the games even though his instinct is to “separate sport from diplomacy and politics.” Earlier this year, several western nations, including the U.S., U.K., Canada and the European Union,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56487162" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">imposed sanctions</a>&nbsp;on Beijing for alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. China has been accused of detaining the region’s mostly Muslim Uighur residents in camps where they reportedly face torture, forced labor and sexual abuse according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">leaked documents</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://xjdp.aspi.org.au/explainers/exploring-xinjiangs-detention-facilities/#" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">satellite images</a>. Beijing has also come under fire for its ongoing crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/10/14/beijing-winter-olympics-ioc-china/?utm_campaign=wp_main&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Olympic officials won’t push China on human rights ahead of Beijing Games, as calls for boycott grow louder</a>&nbsp;(Washington Post)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-13/john-coates-ioc-rules-out-pressure-on-china-over-human-rights/100536494" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Coates rules out IOC pressuring China over human rights ahead of Beijing Winter Olympics</a> (ABC News)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Tag: Beijing 2022

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Beijing Winter Olympics Will Use Chartered Flights To Fly Athletes In Amid Covid-19 Travel Curbs

Olympic Committee Won’t Confront China Over Human Rights Despite Calls For Beijing 2022 Boycott