Winter watch: how China might keep a tight Olympic grip

In the lead-up to the Beijing Winter Olympics there have been two major side-issues unrelated to sport: Covid, and human rights protests.

Chinese authorities have implemented an ambitious “closed loop” system to try and keep the Games free of a coronavirus outbreak, or at least keep any outbreaks away from the general population. When it comes to protests, authorities have also put in a great deal of effort to contain them. Below we look at what issues may present themselves during the Games, and how authorities could react.

“Athletes must be aware that the information they provide on their visa applications has been used to create files and open-source collection efforts on them,” wrote Nicholas Eftimiades, a US academic and former intelligence official, for the Diplomat. “That research effort identifies and places athletes into at least two categories: first, those who have espoused public views that the CCP deems threatening … and second, those that have made public statements in support of China.”

Mobile phone tracking, CCTV systems, and facial recognition technology would also be used, he said.

A mandatory app, called MY2022, requires all those attending to upload personal and health information, and report daily. It allows encryption protecting users’ voice audio and file transfers to be “trivially sidestepped”, according to Citizen Lab, doesn’t make clear who can access the information, and also contains a feature allowing users to report “politically sensitive” content.

Citizen Lab also discovered a series of online search terms earmarked for potential censorship, raising questions about promises made by the Chinese authorities of access to a less restricted internet for foreigners attending. The terms relate to