2024 - "Propaganda and provocation" - the world reacted with indignation to Beijing's opening ceremony

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“A huge provocation”, an “undisguised attempt at propaganda” and a “politically charged message”: the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing alienated the media in many parts of the world. The reactions at a glance:

USA

«New York Times»: “The moment was full of symbolism. The choice of Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a cross-country skier who China says has Uyghur roots, was a direct response to one of the main criticisms of the host country.”

Legend:

A big production: Dinigeer Yilamujiang (left) and Zhao Jiawen place the torch for the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in an oversized snowflake.

Reuters

Her mother proudly wished her all the best, relatives applauded enthusiastically and wiped tears from their eyes. The Chinese government continued its story of the Olympic opening ceremony with two videos distributed on the Internet: The Uyghur woman Dinigeer Yilamujiang, as the last torchbearer, was supposed to refute all allegations of human rights violations in China.

But the supposed coup failed: Western media rated the conclusion of the PR show at the start of the controversial Winter Games in Beijing as a “violent provocation” and “blatant attempt at propaganda”. When the 20-year-old cross-country skier stuck the torch in a gigantic snowflake at 10:24 p.m. with the Nordic combined athlete Zhao Jiawen, the excitement was great.

The suppression of the Uyghurs, which human rights activists call “genocide”, was the most important reason for the diplomatic boycott by US President Joe Biden and several Western governments, together with the suppression of the democracy movement in Hong Kong.

All 56 ethnic groups in China are “members of a big family,” wrote Zhang Zhisheng, China’s Consul General in Tanzania, on Twitter and distributed the videos of Yilamujiang’s family.

“I was deeply hurt that the person primarily responsible for the Uyghur plight, President Xi Jinping, so shamelessly exploited a Uyghur woman for his propaganda,” Haiyuer Kuerban, head of the Berlin office of the World Uyghur Congress, told the SID news agency.

NBC: “In a country condemned for its treatment of the Uyghurs – a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority in western China’s Xinjiang region – the symbolism could not be overlooked.”

«Wall Street Journal»: “It was a politically charged message. China’s election was an unequivocal commitment to ethnic harmony and a defiant rejection of Western human rights criticism.”

«Washington Post»: “We are together for now, 91 nations with pandemic fatigue and some with growing hostility. The world will never be the same but the games are aloof and incessant, trying to hide the IOC’s greedy intentions in the hope of presenting the next two and a half weeks as an emotional cleansing.”