GOP lawmakers call for boycott of Olympics

Eight House Republicans have called for a boycott of next year’s Olympics in Beijing in a resolution introduced just before the congressional recess.

The resolution criticizes China’s human rights record and compares the 2008 Beijing Games to the 1936 Olympics in Nazi-era Berlin. Those Olympics showed that “the integrity of the host country is of the utmost importance so as not to stain the participating athletes or the character of the Games,” according to the resolution, which is cosponsored by Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (Calif.), Joseph Pitts (Penn.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.), John Doolittle (Calif.), Dan Burton (Ind.) Frank Wolf (Va.) and Christopher Smith (N.J.).

{mosads}H. Res. 610 is one of three House resolutions calling for a U.S. boycott of next year’s Olympics introduced just before Congress adjourned for its August recess. The resolutions show that next year’s Beijing Games will continue to be used to leverage China on a host of issues. 

All of the resolutions criticize China’s human rights record and say “immediate steps” should be taken to boycott next year’s Olympics unless the Chinese government takes certain steps on human rights, foreign policy and the Darfur conflict.

H. Res. 610 and a similar resolution cosponsored by Rohrabacher, Pitts and John Shimkus (Ill.) criticize China for contributing to human rights abuses in Sudan, North Korea and Burma. They also cite China’s own human rights record, singling out its detention of the Panchen Lama, a central figure of Tibetan Buddhism selected by the Dalai Lama.

A third resolution, introduced by Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.), focuses on China’s ties to Sudan, which critics charge has provided cover for the Sudanese government to engage in genocide in Darfur.

Both the Senate and House have already approved non-binding resolutions calling on China to use its influence to end the Darfur conflict. Those resolutions mentioned the Olympics but did not call for a boycott.

Chinese embassy officials have met with members of Congress in an effort to curtail calls for boycotts. Last week, China held a party in Tiananmen Square to mark that the games are a year away, and to celebrate its hosting duties.

Tiananmen Square was the site of pro-democracy demonstrations in 1989 forcibly put down by Chinese police and soldiers, an event mentioned by H. Res. 610.