The Olympic Games began in China: Putin pretended to be asleep during the exit of the Ukrainian national team

Russian President Vladimir Putin pretended to fall asleep as the Ukrainian team entered the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Writes about it Daily Mail

Photo: Shutterstock

Political background of the Games

The Russian president sat with his arms crossed and his eyes closed for several seconds during the TV broadcast as the Ukrainian athletes entered the stadium. And this is against the background of fears that he is going to invade Ukraine, and this will provoke the worst confrontation with the West since the Cold War.

Russia has athletes at the Games, but they are forced to act as the "Russian Olympic Committee" and cannot use the country's flag on their uniforms or sing the national anthem if they win.

Separately, a Russian Olympic official was filmed arguing with a Ukrainian official shortly before the ceremony, who apparently branded him a "loser" and a "bastard" despite Olympic organizers insisting that the Games would symbolize peace. and unity in an increasingly divided world.

Meanwhile, Xi Jinping received applause when he arrived to watch some 3000 athletes take part in the ceremony.

Earlier in the day, Xi backed Putin by signing a joint document denouncing US influence in Europe, opposing further NATO expansion, and criticizing Washington's "negative impact on peace and stability" in the Asia-Pacific region.

Another moment of tension came when Taiwanese athletes entered the stadium under the name "Chinese Taiwan". Taiwan considers itself a self-governing country, but Beijing sees it as a breakaway province and threatens to "annex" it by force. The team was determined to boycott the Games because of their team's name, but the organizers said they had to attend.

Putin was one of the few foreign dignitaries present at the events after most Western leaders boycotted China's human rights record and the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in eastern Xinjiang province.

Only a handful of "selected" guests joined world leaders in the stands as the event takes place inside a COVID-19-proof "bubble" in line with China's strict policies.

Putin showed up without a mask at the Olympic Stadium, despite strict Chinese rules requiring everyone to wear protective masks. Even Xi Jinping was wearing a mask, as were all the other guests in the VIP box.

China is imposing heavy fines and arrests on those who refuse to wear masks, with obedience approaching 100%. One observer said: “Putin arrived as if he were an emperor. It was pretty rude of him."

Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, the man behind the mind-blowing Beijing 2008 opening ceremony, also held at the Bird's Nest Stadium, presided over the event.

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Tickets for the opening ceremony, as well as other events of the Games, were not sold publicly and only those specially invited could attend due to fears of the spread of COVID-19, which led to fears that the lack of crowds could affect the atmosphere in the stadium. Foreign fans are not allowed to the Games.

Neither were government officials from Canada, Australia, the UK, the US, India who initiated a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics over human rights violations in China, especially its treatment of the Uyghurs.

They are a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region. According to the UN, they have been the target of serious human rights violations by the state.

China denied the allegations and warned the countries involved in the boycott that they would "pay the price" for their "mistake". But athletes from these countries will participate in the Games.

Putin met with his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, on the eve of an event celebrating the international crisis unfolding in Ukraine, which both countries said has "brought them closer."

Putin is using his visit to the Winter Games to meet the leaders of 20 other countries. This is seen as a diplomatic push to win them over as tensions in Ukraine continue to escalate.

Games and COVID-19

Despite the heated political backdrop of the Games, the biggest concern is COVID-19.

About 60 people, including athletes, coaches, officials, federation delegates, volunteers and media, are in China for the Games and are forced to take tests every day.

The competitions will be held in a "closed loop", which will allow them to move between their places of residence and venues on official transport. They are forbidden to move freely in public places.

British interest in the games is particularly strong despite the country's mediocre track record in winter sports.

British athletes will be looking to keep five medals from the previous Winter Olympics.

Charlotte Banks is considered Britain's best hope for gold in snowboard cross. Other prospects include Brad Hall in bobsleigh, Gus Kenworthy and Kirsty Muir in freestyle skiing, and curlers Bruce Mowat, Jennifer Dodds and Dave Riding in alpine skiing.

Authoritarian China

The Olympic Games and the opening ceremony are always an exercise for the host country, an opportunity to showcase their culture, define their place in the world, show their best side. This is what China has been engulfed in for decades. But at this year's Beijing Games, the gulf between game and reality will be especially sharp.

Fourteen years ago, the opening ceremony in Beijing, which featured massive pyrotechnic performances and thousands of performers, set a new standard of extravagance to launch the Olympic Games, which no other organizer has since matched. It was a fitting start for what is often referred to as China's going public.

But the hope for a more open China that accompanied these first Games has faded.

For Beijing, these Olympic Games are a confirmation of its status as a world player and power. But for many outside of China, especially in the West, they have come to confirm the country's increasingly authoritarian bent.

Chinese authorities are cracking down on pro-democracy activism, tightening their grip on Hong Kong, becoming more confrontational with Taiwan, and interning Muslim Uyghurs in the Far West — a crackdown that the US government and others have called genocide.

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The pandemic is taking its toll on this year's Games just as hard as it did last summer in Tokyo. More than two years after the first cases of COVID-19 were identified in the Chinese province of Hubei, almost 6 million people have died and hundreds of millions have become ill worldwide.

The host country itself claims some of the lowest death and disease rates from the virus, due in part to the massive restrictions imposed by the government, which were immediately apparent to anyone arriving for the Winter Games.

In the run-up to the Olympics, China's crackdown on dissent was also evident in the controversy surrounding Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai. She disappeared from public view last year after accusing a former Communist Party member of sexual assault. Her accusation was quickly removed from the Internet, and its discussion is still heavily censored.

Worried about her safety, tennis greats and others outside of China demanded on social media an answer to the question, "Where is Peng Shuai?" Since then, a surreal cat-and-mouse game has unfolded: Peng made a brief appearance at a youth tennis tournament and spoke via video link with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach in an attempt to allay concerns about her safety.

All eyes on athletes

While political issues overshadow the run-up, as with any Olympics, on February 5, attention will shift, at least in part, from the geopolitical issues of the day to the athletes themselves.

All eyes will be on whether Alpine skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin, who already holds three Olympic medals, can exceed expectations. How snowboarder Shaun White will end her Olympic career, and will we be surprised by the current flag bearer of the sport, Chloe Kim. And how many medals will Russian skaters take.

Meanwhile, China is pinning its hopes on Eileen Gu, an 18-year-old American-born freestyle skier who has decided to compete for her mother's homeland and could win three gold medals.

As they compete, the conditions set by the Chinese authorities stand in stark contrast to the celebratory atmosphere of the 2008 Games. Some flight attendants, immigration officers and hotel staff were covered head to toe in protective gear, masks and goggles. There is a daily testing regime for all participants, followed by extended quarantines for anyone who tests positive.

How has China changed?

China itself has also changed over the years. Back then, it was the new global economic force that made the biggest leap onto the world stage with the hosting of the 2008 Games. Now it is a fully realized superpower. Xi Jinping, who was the head of the 2008 Olympics, now rules the entire country.

Gone are the hopeful claims by organizers and Western governments that hosting the Olympics would put pressure on the ruling Communist Party to fix what they called their human rights record and uphold the values ​​of the world community.

Today, three decades after troops cracked down on mass Democratic demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds, possibly thousands of Chinese, the government has mass-detained more than 1 million members of minority groups, mostly Muslim Uyghurs from Xinjiang's far western region. internment camps. The situation has led human rights groups to label the Olympics the "Genocide Games".

China says the camps are "vocational training and education centers" as part of an anti-terrorism campaign. He denies any human rights violations and is confident that he has restored stability to Xinjiang, a region rife with extremism. The authorities insisted on this for several months after the September 11 attacks.

This behavior has led the leaders of the US, UK, Australia and Canada, among others, to declare a diplomatic boycott of the Games, avoiding the Chinese leadership but allowing their athletes to compete.

From the outset, China's choice was met with criticism from human rights groups, but Beijing was seen as a credible option after four European cities, including Oslo and Stockholm, withdrew for political or financial reasons. Only Beijing and Almaty (Kazakhstan) remained.

Guests of the Games

Outside the Olympic "bubble" that separates ordinary Beijingers from Olympians and their entourage, some have expressed enthusiasm and pride that the Games are being hosted here. Zhang Wenquan, a collector of Olympic memorabilia, displayed his merchandise while standing next to the 2008 mascot.

“I think the effect of fireworks will be much better than in 2008,” he said. I'm really looking forward to the opening ceremony. I really wanted to go right there to watch it. But because of the pandemic, there is no chance.”

Winter Olympics guests describe "dystopian" scenes in the Olympic Village after being greeted by bartenders in full hazmat suits and robots spraying disinfectant.

A Reuters reporter at the hotel described the atmosphere as "dystopian" saying the air smelled of disinfectant from floors and walls sprayed over and over and all food delivered to hotel rooms in plastic bags.

China has agreed to lift its usually strict border rules for the roughly 11 visitors and athletes attending the Olympics, allowing them to enter the country without quarantine as long as they are fully vaccinated.

But throughout the event, which starts on Feb. 4 and runs until Feb. 20, they will be inside a "vicious circle" that is meant to cut them off almost completely from the outside world in order to stop the spread of the virus.

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Some 20 local volunteers helping run the Games will also be placed in self-isolation.

The "circle" system is distributed over three competition zones, located at a distance of 110 miles (177 km) from each other - in Beijing, near Yanqing and Zhangjiakou.

Athletes, their teams and foreign journalists will stay in hotels and the Athletes' Village for the duration of the games, and only employees wearing personal protective equipment are allowed inside.

About 70 hotels are part of the system, and hotels in downtown Beijing are literally fenced off and guarded by the police to prevent unauthorized persons from entering.

A smart transportation system has been developed to move between the hotels, convention centers and venues that will be used for the Olympic events.

The high-speed trains connecting the three competition areas will be separated to keep athletes and the public from mixing, and 4000 buses will be used exclusively to transport guests.

They have dedicated lanes on the highways connecting the competition areas, and local residents face a fine if they drive into them.

At the venues, Games participants will be physically separated from the general public by dedicated entrances, exits, and viewing platforms.

Any athletes who arrive without prior vaccinations are forced to undergo a 21-day isolation. Anyone who tested positive upon arrival was also forced to self-isolate.

This system was enough to break Belgian skeleton athlete Kim Meilemans, who was forced into isolation after a positive test.

Three days of isolation in Beijing, followed by two negative tests, led her to believe she was being released to join other athletes, but instead she was sent to another facility where she was told she would have to spend another seven days in isolation.

Meilemans then tearfully posted on Instagram that she didn't know how much longer she could take before the International Olympic Committee intervened.

The 25-year-old has returned to the Olympic Village, albeit in an isolated wing.

China has pursued this strategy throughout the global pandemic, aggressively isolating and tracking coronavirus cases to keep official infections low.

Mainland China has reported 106 infections and 202 deaths from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, though the veracity of these numbers has been questioned.

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