As the Beijing Winter Olympics are approaching, the German media is paying more attention to China and is becoming more critical of China.
Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), a public radio company based in Hamburg, criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for playing dirty games and turning a blind eye to forced labor in China. The radio station reported that thousands of ethnic Uyghurs are being held in Xinjiang and the cotton used by the Olympic Committee’s sponsor, Anta sports, also comes from Xinjiang. The IOC has turned a blind eye to this fact. The Beijing Winter Olympics are controversial for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it hardly ever snows where this event is held. Ski areas and related construction projects are built in nature reserves. The second is the widespread concern about human rights in China, especially for the Uyghurs in Xinjiang. According to a months-long investigation by NDR and the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, the IOC plays a dual role here. On the one hand, IOC officials present themselves as supposedly politically neutral. On the other hand, they are in cahoots with the Chinese government and support China’s actions that undermine human rights.
Business Insider in Germany found multiple security vulnerabilities in China’s “My2022” application for the upcoming Olympics. The German Olympic Sports Federation is also concerned about the Chinese government’s surveillance. The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab reported that all games participants and visitors are required to use the My2022 application. Users are expected to enter personal data, such as health forms and passport data. However, the Lab found major security vulnerabilities in its analysis, including access to sensitive data, such as travel itineraries and medical information. Voice messages and shared files were also not adequately encrypted.
Source: Radio France International, January 25, 2022
https://rfi.my/86zz