Faced With Questions About Forced Labor in China, the I.O.C. Is Tight-Lipped
The New York Times
Olympic officials are reluctant to probe whether any Beijing 2022 merchandise might have been made under duress by Uyghurs, an activist group charges.
The activists’ request was straightforward: They wanted to share their concerns about human rights in China, in particular the possibility that official merchandise for the Beijing Olympics was being made with forced labor, and to hear what the International Olympic Committee was doing to ensure it was not.
For months, they pressed Olympics officials for a conversation. At first, the I.O.C. demurred. Eventually, officials from the committee agreed to meet — but only for an “active listening exercise,” not to share any information. And the talk would have to remain secret.
Finally, late last month, the I.O.C. pulled out entirely from meeting with the activist group, the Coalition to End Forced Labor in the Uyghur Region.
