Last week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., penned a public letter to Airbnb, Alibaba, Allianz, Atos, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola, Intel, NBC, Omega, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Samsung, and Visa, all members of the Olympic Partner (TOP) Programme, calling out each of the businesses for “ignoring an ongoing genocide in the blind pursuit of profits.”
Rubio demanded that the companies:
1. Acknowledge the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
2. Call on the IOC to move the XXIV Olympic Winter Games out of China, even if this requires a postponement; and,
3. Pull all of their advertising dollars from the Olympic Games if they continue to be held in Beijing.
The full text of the letter is below.
Dear Olympic Partners:
As you are all well aware, the XXIV Olympic Winter Games are planned to take place in the shadow of the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing genocide of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. In announcing a full diplomatic boycott of the Games, the Biden Administration made clear that it “will not be contributing to the fanfare of the games.” As members of The Olympic Partner (TOP) Programme, your companies are not only contributing to the fanfare of the Games, but are promoting and glorifying a genocidal regime.
It is not a stretch to say that Airbnb, Alibaba, Allianz, Atos, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola, Intel, NBC, Omega, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Samsung, and Visa are now ignoring an ongoing genocide in the blind pursuit of profits. Article 2 of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Code of Ethics states that Olympic parties “must not act in a manner likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic Movement.” A campaign of genocide not only tarnishes the reputation of the Olympic Movement, it threatens to damage it beyond repair.
In April 2021, the IOC took the unprecedented step of delaying the XXXII Olympic Summer Games in Japan. Unfortunately, the IOC has been so corrupted by the Chinese Communist Party that it has refused to consider postponing the XXIV Olympic Winter Games and moving them to a country not committing genocide.
Your companies have an opportunity to do better. At a minimum your companies must:
1. Acknowledge the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
2. Call on the IOC to move the XXIV Olympic Winter Games out of China, even if this requires a postponement; and,
3. Pull all of your advertising dollars from the Olympic Games if they continue to be held in Beijing.
Taking a stand against genocide is a moral decision, not a political one. The world is watching and your credibility is on the line, but so too are the lives of millions.
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