The Olympic flame for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is on display on the Flame Exhibition Tour at Shougang Park in Beijing, capital of China, on Dec. 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)
The Games are "not meant to be platforms for political posturing and petty political chess," said Buyile Matiwane, deputy-president of the South African Students Congress.
JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, a South African youth leader said the event should serve as a platform for athletes to compete and as a reminder of what an enduring human spirit can achieve, and not for political posturing.
Buyile Matiwane, deputy-president of the South African Students Congress, make the remarks in an opinion piece on the South African news website IOL following the United States' announcement that it wouldn't send government officials or representatives to the Games.
The Games are "not meant to be platforms for political posturing and petty political chess," he said.
Athletes of Chinese national cross-country skiing team compete during an intra-team simulation competition preparing for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Zhangjiakou City, north China's Hebei Province, on Dec. 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
"Political neutrality" and "autonomy of sport" are clarified in the Olympic Charter's codification of the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, he said. "The action or intention of confounding sports and politics should not be given space."
Matiwane explained that such moves will distract people from the innovation that will be showcased at the Winter Games.
"These include the fact that China has built the world's first 500kV Zhangbei flexible DC power grid, making the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics the first Olympic Games that uses green and clean electric energy," he said.
"In the tough times that many have been experiencing, the sprinkle of hope that will come from witnessing the amazing acts of the Olympics will have a huge impact, reigniting the human spirit that has been dulled by the current pandemic," he said, calling for united global efforts to ensure the event a success. ■
