House Republicans ask Blinken to brief US Olympic athletes on China's human rights abuses

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Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee have called on the Secretary of State Antony Blinken to implement a process to brief all American athletes traveling to the Beijing Winter Olympics on China’s human rights abuses. 

In a Wednesday letter penned by Ranking Member Michael McCaul and signed by 14 other GOP committee members, the lawmakers reminded Blinken that the American Values and Security in International Athletics Act (AVSIA) was enacted by President Biden on Dec. 27, 2021 as it was included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2022. 

WASHINGTON, DC -  Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, speaks at a bipartisan news conference.

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The act now requires the State Department to brief U.S. athletes competing in international competitions on any "human rights abuses and safety concerns" existent in the host nation. 

"Both the executive branch and Congress have designated the CCP’s crimes against Uyghurs as genocide, a rare action reserved for history’s most severe atrocities," the lawmakers wrote. "Given the historic human rights challenge of the Beijing Winter Olympics, U.S. athletes deserve to be informed of the full breadth of the CCP’s atrocities and malign actions before competing, including the ongoing genocide, the suppression of democracy and dissent, and the attendant risks they face in China."

The letter explained there is a concern that, while in Beijing, American athletes may express dissent for China’s human rights abuses – which could put their security at risk.

Children wave national flags and Beijing 2022 Winter