CHFA | Global Languages Senior Colloquium

Inseparable "The Olympic And Politics": How Did The Diplomatic Boycott Affect The Beijing Olympics And China?

Presenter Information

Rina SugimotoFollow

Academic Level at Time of Presentation

Senior

Major

Culture & Language Studies/ Chinese

Minor

International Studies

List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)

Dr. Jie Wu; Dr. Roxane Riegler

Presentation Format

Oral Presentation

Abstract/Description

Rina Sugimoto

Rina Sugimoto is a senior at Murray State University majoring in Culture & Language studies/ Chinese and minoring in International Studies. She enjoys dance, watching movies and playing sports. She will graduate in 2023 and plans to work in OPT or something related to culture and language.

Inseparable "the Olympic and Politics":

How did the diplomatic boycott affect the Beijing Olympics and China?

Politics and the Olympics are inseparable. The Olympic Games always have an opening ceremony and a closing ceremony, usually attended by athletes and national executives. However, in 2022, some countries did not send national executives to the Beijing Olympics. The reason why some countries boycotted China is that several non-Chinese media claimed that the Chinese government was oppressing the Uighur minority. This boycott did not affect the tournament itself, but China's human rights issues have affected China and other countries.

I analyze newspaper articles from multiple countries. I focus on Japan, China, and the United States. I am using the material to examine how the boycotts affected the Olympics and China and what each of these countries thinks about the issues happening in China. I argue that the boycotts did not affect the Olympics directly because the games happened without any issues. Still, the fact that state executives did not participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympics, a celebration of peace, is a bad image for China. Although Human rights violations are always happening in the world, we can see them more clearly during big international events such as the Olympics because the international community's attention is on the host country. But China does not really care about it. You can see how China think about violation and how US/ Japan feel about it from the articles on the China side and US/ Japan side.

Spring Scholars Week 2022 Event

GTL 400 Senior Colloquium

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Inseparable "The Olympic And Politics": How Did The Diplomatic Boycott Affect The Beijing Olympics And China?

Rina Sugimoto

Rina Sugimoto is a senior at Murray State University majoring in Culture & Language studies/ Chinese and minoring in International Studies. She enjoys dance, watching movies and playing sports. She will graduate in 2023 and plans to work in OPT or something related to culture and language.

Inseparable "the Olympic and Politics":

How did the diplomatic boycott affect the Beijing Olympics and China?

Politics and the Olympics are inseparable. The Olympic Games always have an opening ceremony and a closing ceremony, usually attended by athletes and national executives. However, in 2022, some countries did not send national executives to the Beijing Olympics. The reason why some countries boycotted China is that several non-Chinese media claimed that the Chinese government was oppressing the Uighur minority. This boycott did not affect the tournament itself, but China's human rights issues have affected China and other countries.

I analyze newspaper articles from multiple countries. I focus on Japan, China, and the United States. I am using the material to examine how the boycotts affected the Olympics and China and what each of these countries thinks about the issues happening in China. I argue that the boycotts did not affect the Olympics directly because the games happened without any issues. Still, the fact that state executives did not participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympics, a celebration of peace, is a bad image for China. Although Human rights violations are always happening in the world, we can see them more clearly during big international events such as the Olympics because the international community's attention is on the host country. But China does not really care about it. You can see how China think about violation and how US/ Japan feel about it from the articles on the China side and US/ Japan side.