Politicized from the start by the US-led diplomatic boycottthe Beijing Winter Olympicsheld without an audience, staged changes in the world order but also tested the effectiveness – and harshness – of China’s rigid measures to keep the pandemic at bay.
The absence of representatives of Washington and allies such as the United Kingdom, Canada or Australia converted the russian president, Vladimir Putinin the stellar presence of the opening of the Games on the 4th and illustrated the closing ranks of Beijing and Moscow against the West.
The “punishment” of these Games was on account of the alleged abuses against Human Rights by the Chinese Government in the autonomous region of Xinjiangwith a Muslim majority, where hundreds of thousands of people would have passed through internment camps to prevent the spread of extremism, something that Beijing has always denied.
The issue remains burning and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, He could travel this year to the region, home to 12 million Uyghurs, if he is allowed unguarded access where he can interact with both civil society and high-level officials.
Despite the controversy, sport relegated the political tide to the background and attention was focused on snow and ice, although the details of life inside the COVID-19-proof bubble in which the event was held, the second in the midst of a pandemic after the Games of Tokyo 2020.
the bubble worked
Athletes, delegations and journalists from abroad have remained at all times in a closed circuit and without any type of contact with the local population, whose closeness to the Olympic event has practically been limited to following it through the press and social networks, where the Games have been omnipresent.
The outbreaks registered in January in several areas of China, including the capital -which was celebrating its second Olympic event after hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics- made the authorities will tighten even more with the containment measures, including the closure of schools in an already armored Beijing, to guarantee a virus-free Games.
Except by invitation, the Pekingese could not attend any of the competitions offered by the Olympic event, although the harsh anticovid strategy fulfilled its function: Most of the positives were detected at the airport after entering the country, and in the last week hardly any cases were recorded within the bubble, in some days none.
In total, the positives within the closed circuit totaled just over 400 -some 270 at the border- and were diagnosed from more than 1.7 million PCR tests.
These results did not prevent athletes who tested positive once in China protest the draconian isolation measures to which they were subjected to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the Olympic villages and venues.
In fact, the matter is not over for the staff, volunteers and informants who live in China, who after the closure of the Games will have to keep another two additional weeks of isolation before being able to step on the streets of the country.
Games with a woman’s name
The faces of these Games were female, although for very different reasons.
The laurels went to the Chinese-American jumper born in California Eileen Gu -also known as Gu Ailing-, who added two golds and one silver for China, unleashing a true wave of passions in the Asian country.
On the reverse, the young Russian figure skater Kamila Valíevaprotagonist of the main controversy of Beijing 2022 after being authorized to continue competing despite having tested positive in anti-doping tests prior to the Games.
At the official level, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bachhighlighted the “great Olympic spirit” that, in his opinion, has characterized these Games and the positive scenes that some athletes starred in despite the geopolitical confrontations between their countries.
Specifically, Bach referred to the scenes of camaraderie between Chinese and American athletes or between Russians and Ukrainians despite the fact that the countries they represent continue to be locked in political tensions.
In general, the Olympic president considered that the Games have been “very successful” in part thanks to the anti-covid ‘bubble’ designed by the Chinese hosts who, despite critical voices, made the venue the “safest place in the world”. (D)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
