Beijing 2022 organisers accused of ‘sportswashing’ after Uyghur athlete lit cauldron in opening ceremony

Dinigeer Yilamujiang was one of two athletes to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony

Organisers of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics have been accused of 'sportswashing' after an Uyghur athlete was used to light the cauldron at the opening ceremony on Friday. Cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang was one of two Chinese competitors to ignite the flame during the ceremony at the Bird's Nest Stadium ahead of the start of the Winter Olympic Games. The news follows widespread criticism of the Chinese government in the build-up to the Winter Olympics with human rights groups claiming they are committing crimes against humanity in their treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the state of Xinjiang. There are also allegations that as many as one million Uyghurs are currently detained in 're-education camps' where they are reportedly subjected to hard labour and torture. https://twitter.com/SportsJOE_UK/status/1489509033073471495?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1489509033073471495%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joe.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fvladimir-putin-pretends-to-be-asleep-during-ukraines-opening-ceremony-welcome-315617 Read more: Why so many countries are boycotting the Winter Olympics Rahima Mahmut, who is a member of the World Uyghur Congress explained that what officials had done during the ceremony was "propaganda." "It was propaganda," she told the Daily Mail. "They want to give their best image to the world and to discredit survivors and organisations like ours who want to tell the world about the genocide that is happening. https://twitter.com/PoliticsJOE_UK/status/1489372600178458627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1489372600178458627%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joe.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fvladimir-putin-pretends-to-be-asleep-during-ukraines-opening-ceremony-welcome-315617

"They want people to believe them, to sportwash what they are doing. There is a Chinese idiom that translates as 'no 300 taels of silver are buried here.'

"It is when someone protests they are innocent too much. That is what I thought when I heard about the opening ceremony and the torch."

Meanwhile a spokesperson from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) defended the decision to choose Yilamujiang as one of the athletes to light the cauldron, claiming it was a "lovely concept." "This is an athlete who is competing here, she has every right wherever she comes from," they said.

"Whatever background she comes from to compete and she has every right whatever her background and wherever she comes from to take part in the Opening Ceremony.

"I think it was a lovely concept."

Related links:

• Why so many countries are boycotting the Winter Olympics
• Vladimir Putin pretends to be asleep during Ukraine’s opening ceremony welcome
• Jamaican bobsleigh team appears at Winter Olympics for first time since 1998