China has reacted to the accusations that it asked Russia to delay its invasion of Ukraine until after the recently concluded Beijing Winter Olympics.&nbsp;

On Wednesday (March 2), a &nbsp;US-based paper The New York Times reported that Chinese officials had asked senior Russian officials not to invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics.&nbsp;

To validate the accusation, the paper cited senior officials in the administration of United States President Joe Biden as well as a European official.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-ukraine-conflict-is-this-vladimir-putins-next-massive-plan-458569?UTM_SRC=breakingnews">Russia-Ukraine conflict: Is this Vladimir Putin's next massive plan?</a>

As per the report, China might have had some level of direct knowledge about Russia's war plans or intentions before the invasion started on February 24 after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered "military operations" in Ukraine.&nbsp;

The invasion started last week just four days after the Beijing Winter Olympics' closing ceremony as eyebrows are raised whether or not the reports are true.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, on being asked about the same at a press briefing on Thursday (March 3), Beijing dismissed the report. "The New York Times report is complete fake news. These kinds of diversionary, blame-shifting remarks are thoroughly despicable," said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/constructive-conversation-quad-leaders-discuss-ukraine-situation-458750">'Constructive conversation': Quad leaders discuss Ukraine situation</a>

On the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Beijing has taken a neutral stance and President Xi Jinping held a meeting last month with his Russian counterpart where the pair agreed to a "no limits" partnership.&nbsp;

Since then, Beijing has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine but has stopped short of outright support.&nbsp;

China was among 35 countries that abstained, while just five - Eritrea, North Korea, Syria, Belarus and Russia - voted against it.

The conflict has caused more than one million people to flee Ukraine, according to the United Nations.&nbsp;

WATCH | Russia, Belarus out of Winter Paralympics amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine

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China has reacted to the accusations that it asked Russia to delay its invasion of Ukraine until after the recently concluded Beijing Winter Olympics. On Wednesday (March 2), a US-based paper The New York Times reported that Chinese officials had asked senior Russian officials not to invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics.

China has reacted to the accusations that it asked Russia to delay its invasion of Ukraine until after the recently concluded Beijing Winter Olympics. On Wednesday (March 2), a US-based paper The New York Times reported that Chinese officials had asked senior Russian officials not to invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics. To validate the accusation, the paper cited senior officials in the administration of United States President Joe Biden as well as a European official. ALSO READ | Russia-Ukraine conflict: Is this Vladimir Putin's next massive plan? As per the report, China might have had some level of direct knowledge about Russia's war plans or intentions before the invasion started on February 24 after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered "military operations" in Ukraine. The invasion started last week just four days after the Beijing Winter Olympics' closing ceremony as eyebrows are raised whether or not the reports are true. Meanwhile, on being asked about the same at a press briefing on Thursday (March 3), Beijing dismissed the report. "The New York Times report is complete fake news. These kinds of diversionary, blame-shifting remarks are thoroughly despicable," said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. ALSO READ | 'Constructive conversation': Quad leaders discuss Ukraine situation On the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Beijing has taken a neutral stance and President Xi Jinping held a meeting last month with his Russian counterpart where the pair agreed to a "no limits" partnership. Since then, Beijing has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine but has stopped short of outright support. China was among 35 countries that abstained, while just five - Eritrea, North Korea, Syria, Belarus and Russia - voted against it. The conflict has caused more than one million people to flee Ukraine, according to the United Nations. WATCH | Russia, Belarus out of Winter Paralympics amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine ×

China reacts to accusations that it asked Russia to stall Ukraine attack till after Winter Olympics

Britain condemned on Wednesday the International Paralympic Committee's decision to let Russian and Belarusian athletes compete as neutral participants in the Winter Paralympics in Beijing.

"I am extremely disappointed in the IPC - this is the wrong decision and I call on them to urgently reconsider," Nadine Dorries, Britain's secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said in a statement.

ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/beijing-winter-paralympics-athletes-from-russia-belarus-can-compete-as-neutrals-458193">Beijing Winter Paralympics: Athletes from Russia, Belarus can compete as neutrals</a>

"They must join the rest of the world in condemning this barbaric invasion by banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing," she added.

Dorries said she would consult with British sports bodies on how best to protest this decision.

Britain condemned on Wednesday the International Paralympic Committee's decision to let Russian and Belarusian athletes compete as neutral participants in the Winter Paralympics in Beijing.

Britain condemned on Wednesday the International Paralympic Committee's decision to let Russian and Belarusian athletes compete as neutral participants in the Winter Paralympics in Beijing. "I am extremely disappointed in the IPC - this is the wrong decision and I call on them to urgently reconsider," Nadine Dorries, Britain's secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said in a statement. ALSO READ: Beijing Winter Paralympics: Athletes from Russia, Belarus can compete as neutrals "They must join the rest of the world in condemning this barbaric invasion by banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing," she added. Dorries said she would consult with British sports bodies on how best to protest this decision.

Beijing Winter Paralympics: Britain condemns participation of Russian, Belarusian athletes

In Pictures - Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 concludes with glittery closing ceremony

When it comes to Eileen Gu, the 18-year-old Olympic gold medalist freestyle skier who was born in San Francisco but competed for China, Chinese Americans have lots of opinions.

There are those who love her, moved by her ability to soar over treacherous slopes with ease. Others are inspired by her efforts to navigate the uneasy political tension between two countries and cultures. Some believe she chose to represent China simply to cash in on the lucrative opportunities it has afforded her.

But like her or not, many Chinese Americans interviewed in the New York region this week agreed on one thing: When Gu says, as she often does, “When I’m in the U.S., I’m American, but when I’m in China, I’m Chinese,” it resonates with them.

“I think what I’m seeing is somebody who isn’t afraid to love her identities and share that with people,” said Sarah Belle Lin, 28, a Harlem resident. “I think it’s so brave, actually, for her to speak about that on a public platform.”

To Lin and more than two dozen other Chinese Americans interviewed in the New York metro area, home to the country’s largest Chinese American population as of 2019, Gu’s statement expresses a duality that resembles their lived experiences. And they find that duality comfortable, they said, not counterintuitive.

For that reason, many expressed dismay about social media users and conservative pundits calling Gu a “traitor” and “ungrateful,” painting her as somehow not quite an American because she had chosen to compete for China, and suggesting that her identity must fall into a binary — Chinese or American, but not both.

Gu has repeatedly stated that she made her choice because she wanted to serve as a role model for female athletes in China, and raise the profile of skiing in a country where it is still largely a nascent sport.

Some of those interviewed said they viewed the questioning of her loyalty as a troubling reminder of ongoing Orientalist stereotypes of Asian Americans as “perpetual foreigners” with the potential to undermine the United States, even though many of them call the country their home.

“I think, if political tensions continue to rise, we will find ourselves in situations, whether we’re in the States or in China, where people will push us to identify with one over the other,” said Easten Law, 38, of Princeton, New Jersey.

“For us everyday Chinese Americans, we’re going to have to deal with the same issues of, you know, claiming versus disassociating, and parsing through what to identify with and what not to,” he said. “I think it’s inevitable.”

For others, the criticism against Gu felt personal. Several described experiencing the weight of other people’s narrow expectations of how Asian Americans should act, think and identify.

Jessica Wu, a Queens resident, never felt this projection more clearly than in 2017, when she flew from Portugal to Philadelphia. While passing through immigration with others from her flight, Wu said, a Transportation Security Administration agent laughed when he saw her U.S. passport and asked if she was actually an American citizen.

“Even though I never felt like I have to choose or even think about my identity, I think other people make that assumption for me, or they put their own racist assumptions on me,” Wu said.

Though Gu, who was born to a Chinese mother and an American father, has described herself as a typical Asian American teen, she had an unusually privileged childhood. She was raised in an affluent neighborhood of San Francisco, attended an elite private school and spent most summers in Beijing.

Her experience since then has been similarly uncommon. She has been allowed to compete with an ambiguous citizenship status: China does not allow dual citizenship, but there is no record of Gu having renounced her American citizenship.

And then there’s the fact that she has been able to tap into a vast pool of sponsorships, in part because competitive skiing is still a growing field in China.

She has contracts with more than 30 international brands, according to The Wall Street Journal, including Tiffany &amp; Co. and Louis Vuitton, and her rising modeling career has put her on the covers of the Chinese editions of Vogue and Marie Claire.

Lai Ling Li, 38, who said she was a fan of Gu, said she thought China’s audience of 1.4 billion people likely drove the athlete’s decision.

“It really comes down to opportunity,” said Li, noting Gu’s impressive sponsorship roster.

“I don’t know any other athlete who’s able to do that, especially at 18 years old,” she added.

Whether or not Gu was motivated by identity or national preference, her story is one that is now inextricably tangled up in both.

The relationship between China and the United States has reached a new low in recent years as China’s economic and military global power has grown. The tension was compounded by former President Donald Trump’s punitive trade policies and explicit anti-Chinese statements at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. As assaults against Asian Americans spiked across the country over the past two years, many attackers parroted the former president’s rhetoric.

Under the shadow of today’s antagonism, Gu has had to field countless questions about everything from whether she intends to renounce her U.S. citizenship to her thoughts on China’s censorship policies and the sexual assault allegations made by Peng Shuai, one of the country’s star tennis players, against a senior government official.

Gu has stressed repeatedly that she wants to avoid discussing politics when it comes to China, telling The New York Times in a previous interview that she did not want to be “divisive” and that her mission is “all about inclusivity.”

In New York, many of those interviewed said her decision to compete for China should not be conflated with a political preference, arguing that it was unfair to expect someone’s identity to represent a country or its political climate. (Others noted that she was just 15 when she made the choice.)

“To be Chinese doesn’t mean that you are always in support of China’s government,” said Lucy Yu, 27, who recently opened Yu and Me Books, a bookstore in Manhattan’s Chinatown. “I can respect that and also understand the difficulties that come with expressing that.”

Some said they were confused as to why Gu had chosen to compete for a country facing widespread allegations of human rights abuses, such as accusations of carrying out a genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim residents, and a history of suppressing those who have attempted to sound the alarm over social unrest or government wrongdoing.

Others said that although they did not believe Gu was obligated to speak up on issues affecting Chinese people, they did not understand why she had chosen to stay tight-lipped on matters in China while making her position clear on issues relevant to Americans, such as the rise in anti-Asian attacks and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Ricky Yeh, 37, said as a Taiwanese American, he was troubled by Gu’s choice. Beijing considers the island part of China and has long demanded unification, but an increasing number of Taiwanese people have distanced themselves from mainland culture.

“If you are a supporter of human rights, according to her public speech, then why do you support that kind of country?” Yeh said. “Maybe that’s not her priority. But in recent days, every country has recognized that China has been harming human rights in every way they can.”

And some, such as Ming Xia, a professor of political science at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center, feared that the longer Gu competes for China, the more vulnerable she may become to any of the country’s attempts to exploit her image for political propaganda.

“She was recruited to compete on behalf of China, but she was not recruited to become the spokesperson for China’s toxic patriotism,” Xia said.

Perhaps at the heart of the controversy is the question of what it means to be Asian American, and how that evolving description stretches and bends for each person.

Lin, the Harlem resident, plans to live in Hong Kong or Shanghai for a few years. She said that wherever she ends up moving, she would be just as American there as she is Asian while living in the U.S.

The idea that someone would feel justified in questioning her identity or even her political loyalty over this choice, she said, angered her. And although members of the public may have already made up their minds about who Gu is and what she stands for, she said, only the athlete herself will know the answer.

“I’m Asian American, now and forever,” Lin said. “And I feel like the same goes for anybody who wants to say the same.”

When it comes to Eileen Gu, the 18-year-old Olympic gold medalist freestyle skier who was born in San Francisco but competed for China, Chinese Americans have lots of opinions.

When it comes to Eileen Gu, the 18-year-old Olympic gold medalist freestyle skier who was born in San Francisco but competed for China, Chinese Americans have lots of opinions. There are those who love her, moved by her ability to soar over treacherous slopes with ease. Others are inspired by her efforts to navigate the uneasy political tension between two countries and cultures. Some believe she chose to represent China simply to cash in on the lucrative opportunities it has afforded her. But like her or not, many Chinese Americans interviewed in the New York region this week agreed on one thing: When Gu says, as she often does, “When I’m in the U.S., I’m American, but when I’m in China, I’m Chinese,” it resonates with them. “I think what I’m seeing is somebody who isn’t afraid to love her identities and share that with people,” said Sarah Belle Lin, 28, a Harlem resident. “I think it’s so brave, actually, for her to speak about that on a public platform.” To Lin and more than two dozen other Chinese Americans interviewed in the New York metro area, home to the country’s largest Chinese American population as of 2019, Gu’s statement expresses a duality that resembles their lived experiences. And they find that duality comfortable, they said, not counterintuitive. For that reason, many expressed dismay about social media users and conservative pundits calling Gu a “traitor” and “ungrateful,” painting her as somehow not quite an American because she had chosen to compete for China, and suggesting that her identity must fall into a binary — Chinese or American, but not both. Gu has repeatedly stated that she made her choice because she wanted to serve as a role model for female athletes in China, and raise the profile of skiing in a country where it is still largely a nascent sport. Some of those interviewed said they viewed the questioning of her loyalty as a troubling reminder of ongoing Orientalist stereotypes of Asian Americans as “perpetual foreigners” with the potential to undermine the United States, even though many of them call the country their home. “I think, if political tensions continue to rise, we will find ourselves in situations, whether we’re in the States or in China, where people will push us to identify with one over the other,” said Easten Law, 38, of Princeton, New Jersey. “For us everyday Chinese Americans, we’re going to have to deal with the same issues of, you know, claiming versus disassociating, and parsing through what to identify with and what not to,” he said. “I think it’s inevitable.” For others, the criticism against Gu felt personal. Several described experiencing the weight of other people’s narrow expectations of how Asian Americans should act, think and identify. Jessica Wu, a Queens resident, never felt this projection more clearly than in 2017, when she flew from Portugal to Philadelphia. While passing through immigration with others from her flight, Wu said, a Transportation Security Administration agent laughed when he saw her U.S. passport and asked if she was actually an American citizen. “Even though I never felt like I have to choose or even think about my identity, I think other people make that assumption for me, or they put their own racist assumptions on me,” Wu said. Though Gu, who was born to a Chinese mother and an American father, has described herself as a typical Asian American teen, she had an unusually privileged childhood. She was raised in an affluent neighborhood of San Francisco, attended an elite private school and spent most summers in Beijing. Her experience since then has been similarly uncommon. She has been allowed to compete with an ambiguous citizenship status: China does not allow dual citizenship, but there is no record of Gu having renounced her American citizenship. And then there’s the fact that she has been able to tap into a vast pool of sponsorships, in part because competitive skiing is still a growing field in China. She has contracts with more than 30 international brands, according to The Wall Street Journal, including Tiffany & Co. and Louis Vuitton, and her rising modeling career has put her on the covers of the Chinese editions of Vogue and Marie Claire. Lai Ling Li, 38, who said she was a fan of Gu, said she thought China’s audience of 1.4 billion people likely drove the athlete’s decision. “It really comes down to opportunity,” said Li, noting Gu’s impressive sponsorship roster. “I don’t know any other athlete who’s able to do that, especially at 18 years old,” she added. Whether or not Gu was motivated by identity or national preference, her story is one that is now inextricably tangled up in both. The relationship between China and the United States has reached a new low in recent years as China’s economic and military global power has grown. The tension was compounded by former President Donald Trump’s punitive trade policies and explicit anti-Chinese statements at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. As assaults against Asian Americans spiked across the country over the past two years, many attackers parroted the former president’s rhetoric. Under the shadow of today’s antagonism, Gu has had to field countless questions about everything from whether she intends to renounce her U.S. citizenship to her thoughts on China’s censorship policies and the sexual assault allegations made by Peng Shuai, one of the country’s star tennis players, against a senior government official. Gu has stressed repeatedly that she wants to avoid discussing politics when it comes to China, telling The New York Times in a previous interview that she did not want to be “divisive” and that her mission is “all about inclusivity.” In New York, many of those interviewed said her decision to compete for China should not be conflated with a political preference, arguing that it was unfair to expect someone’s identity to represent a country or its political climate. (Others noted that she was just 15 when she made the choice.) “To be Chinese doesn’t mean that you are always in support of China’s government,” said Lucy Yu, 27, who recently opened Yu and Me Books, a bookstore in Manhattan’s Chinatown. “I can respect that and also understand the difficulties that come with expressing that.” Some said they were confused as to why Gu had chosen to compete for a country facing widespread allegations of human rights abuses, such as accusations of carrying out a genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim residents, and a history of suppressing those who have attempted to sound the alarm over social unrest or government wrongdoing. Others said that although they did not believe Gu was obligated to speak up on issues affecting Chinese people, they did not understand why she had chosen to stay tight-lipped on matters in China while making her position clear on issues relevant to Americans, such as the rise in anti-Asian attacks and the Black Lives Matter movement. Ricky Yeh, 37, said as a Taiwanese American, he was troubled by Gu’s choice. Beijing considers the island part of China and has long demanded unification, but an increasing number of Taiwanese people have distanced themselves from mainland culture. “If you are a supporter of human rights, according to her public speech, then why do you support that kind of country?” Yeh said. “Maybe that’s not her priority. But in recent days, every country has recognized that China has been harming human rights in every way they can.” And some, such as Ming Xia, a professor of political science at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center, feared that the longer Gu competes for China, the more vulnerable she may become to any of the country’s attempts to exploit her image for political propaganda. “She was recruited to compete on behalf of China, but she was not recruited to become the spokesperson for China’s toxic patriotism,” Xia said. Perhaps at the heart of the controversy is the question of what it means to be Asian American, and how that evolving description stretches and bends for each person. Lin, the Harlem resident, plans to live in Hong Kong or Shanghai for a few years. She said that wherever she ends up moving, she would be just as American there as she is Asian while living in the U.S. The idea that someone would feel justified in questioning her identity or even her political loyalty over this choice, she said, angered her. And although members of the public may have already made up their minds about who Gu is and what she stands for, she said, only the athlete herself will know the answer. “I’m Asian American, now and forever,” Lin said. “And I feel like the same goes for anybody who wants to say the same.”

Why Chinese Americans are talking about Eileen Gu

Ukrainian cross-country skier Valentyna Kaminska has tested positive for a steroid and two stimulants, becoming the second athlete at the Beijing Winter Olympics to fail drug tests.

Beijing Winter Olympics: Ukrainian skier tests positive for banned drugs

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday (February 14) said that the flower and medal ceremonies&nbsp;will not take place if Russian teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva finishes among&nbsp;the top three in the women's single skating competition during the Winter Olympics 2022, which is underway in Beijing.&nbsp;

IOC will withhold medals from Valieva and from her competitors until the case is resolved.&nbsp;

IOC also said that there will also be&nbsp;no ceremony for the team event, won by Russia last week with Valieva playing a starring role.&nbsp;

The 15-year-old, who was tested positive for a banned substance, was allowed to compete at the Beijing Winter Olympics after a decision by the sport's top court on Monday (February 14).&nbsp;

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said it had upheld the Russian Anti-Doping Agency's decision to lift a ban on the 15-year-old Russian athlete.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/erin-jackson-creates-history-becomes-first-black-woman-to-win-individual-winter-olympic-gold-453140">Erin Jackson creates history, becomes first Black woman to win individual Winter Olympic gold</a>

After the decision, IOC in a statement said, "In the interest of fairness to all athletes and the NOCs concerned, it would not be appropriate to hold the medal ceremony for the figure skating team event during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022."&nbsp;

It added, "It would include an athlete who on the one hand has a positive A-sample, but whose violation of the anti-doping rules has not yet been established on the other hand."&nbsp;

IOC said that the "management of the case after this positive A-sample has not yet been concluded" and it informed that "only after due process" can establish whether Valieva infringed the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) and would have to be sanctioned.&nbsp;

"This inconclusive situation led the IOC EB to the following decisions, after having had initial consultations with the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) concerned," said IOC.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/beijing-olympics-kamila-valieva-to-compete-post-cas-ruling-citing-exceptional-circumstances-453132">Beijing Olympics: Kamila Valieva to compete post CAS ruling citing 'exceptional circumstances'</a>

Meanwhile, the US Olympic Committee said it was "disappointed" by the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision to allow Valieva&nbsp;to compete again.&nbsp;

"We are disappointed by the message this decision sends," USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said, adding: "This appears to be another chapter in the systemic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday (February 14) said that the flower and medal ceremonies will not take place if Russian teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva finishes among the top three in the women's single skating competition during the Winter Olympics 2022, which is underway in Beijing.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday (February 14) said that the flower and medal ceremonies will not take place if Russian teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva finishes among the top three in the women's single skating competition during the Winter Olympics 2022, which is underway in Beijing. IOC will withhold medals from Valieva and from her competitors until the case is resolved. IOC also said that there will also be no ceremony for the team event, won by Russia last week with Valieva playing a starring role. The 15-year-old, who was tested positive for a banned substance, was allowed to compete at the Beijing Winter Olympics after a decision by the sport's top court on Monday (February 14). The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said it had upheld the Russian Anti-Doping Agency's decision to lift a ban on the 15-year-old Russian athlete. ALSO READ | Erin Jackson creates history, becomes first Black woman to win individual Winter Olympic gold After the decision, IOC in a statement said, "In the interest of fairness to all athletes and the NOCs concerned, it would not be appropriate to hold the medal ceremony for the figure skating team event during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022." It added, "It would include an athlete who on the one hand has a positive A-sample, but whose violation of the anti-doping rules has not yet been established on the other hand." IOC said that the "management of the case after this positive A-sample has not yet been concluded" and it informed that "only after due process" can establish whether Valieva infringed the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) and would have to be sanctioned. "This inconclusive situation led the IOC EB to the following decisions, after having had initial consultations with the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) concerned," said IOC. ALSO READ | Beijing Olympics: Kamila Valieva to compete post CAS ruling citing 'exceptional circumstances' Meanwhile, the US Olympic Committee said it was "disappointed" by the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision to allow Valieva to compete again. "We are disappointed by the message this decision sends," USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland said, adding: "This appears to be another chapter in the systemic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia."

No medal ceremony if Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva wins at Beijing Winter Olympics

The United States could prosecute the Russians involved in figure skater Kamila Valieva’s doping case under the American Rodchenkov Act (RADA), the head of the U.S. Anti Doping Agency (USADA), Travis Tygart, told Reuters on Friday.

The RADA bill was signed into U.S. law in 2020 and empowers American prosecutors to seek fines of up to $1 million and jail terms of up to 10 years, even for non-Americans, if actions have affected American athletes’ results.

Russian Valieva won gold in the team event on Monday but the International Testing Agency (ITA) said on Friday the 15-year-old had earlier failed a drug test. The United States won silver and Japan bronze. read more

Olympic officials are now contesting Russia's decision to let her compete at the Beijing Winter Games.

"The act has been used to protect one Olympic Games," Tygart said, referring to last year's Tokyo Games. "It is going to be used to protect other Olympic Games when people continue to dope.

"You cannot make it up. We are living in the twilight zone. Clean athletes deserve better, and this poor young woman deserves better. She's getting chewed up (for doping) on top of being abused by the Russian state system."

The RADA gives U.S. authorities the power to prosecute individuals for doping schemes at international events involving American athletes, sponsors or broadcasters.

It was named after Grigory Rodchenkov, a former Russia anti-doping laboratory head who turned whistleblower and helped expose Russia's state-sponsored doping following the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.

Russia has acknowledged some shortcomings in its implementation of anti-doping rules but denies running a state-sponsored doping programme.

Valieva delivered one of the highlights of the Beijing Games so far when she landed the first quadruple jumps by a woman in Olympic competition on Monday.

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/from-russia-doping-row-to-inedible-food-controversies-galore-at-beijing-winter-olympics-2022-452360">From Russia doping row to 'inedible' food: Controversies galore at Beijing Winter Olympics 2022</a>

Her Olympic dream, however, turned into a nightmare on Friday when the ITA revealed publicly that she had tested positive for banned angina drug Trimetazidine in a urine sample collected by Russian authorities at the national championships in St Petersburg on Dec 25.

The testing lab in Stockholm, Sweden, reported on Tuesday that her sample was positive, the day after she wowed the world and helped win the gold for her team, who are competing as the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) due to doping sanctions.

It was not immediately clear why there was such a delay between her test and the result, which allowed her to travel to Beijing and take part in the first of her two events.

"Whoever was dealing with it simply, absolutely should have expedited it," Tygart said. "It is not that difficult to do. A five-week delay for a substance like this should not have happened.

"It is a catastrophic failure of the system to allow the star of the Games to have her sample not reported back close to five weeks, and then it gets reported the day after they won the team event.

"You shouldn’t be in a government or sport and (be) able to dope athletes and there be no consequence. It was exactly what happened in state-sponsored doping, and this is why the Rodchenkov Act was passed. It's the only way to address this behaviour.

"Many of us were disappointed in the initial state-sponsored doping (in Russia) that was exposed back in 2015, that those who orchestrated and conspired to abuse young athletes ... were not held accountable by their sport or their own governments."

Russian athletes at the Games are not competing under their flag, and their anthem is not played at any ceremonies following sanctions imposed for the widespread doping across many sports exposed after the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

The sanctions are due to be lifted at the end of the year, but the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency cautioned earlier this month that Russia should not assume this would happen automatically.

The United States could prosecute the Russians involved in figure skater Kamila Valieva’s doping case under the American Rodchenkov Act (RADA), the head of the U.

The United States could prosecute the Russians involved in figure skater Kamila Valieva’s doping case under the American Rodchenkov Act (RADA), the head of the U.S. Anti Doping Agency (USADA), Travis Tygart, told Reuters on Friday. The RADA bill was signed into U.S. law in 2020 and empowers American prosecutors to seek fines of up to $1 million and jail terms of up to 10 years, even for non-Americans, if actions have affected American athletes’ results. Russian Valieva won gold in the team event on Monday but the International Testing Agency (ITA) said on Friday the 15-year-old had earlier failed a drug test. The United States won silver and Japan bronze. read more Olympic officials are now contesting Russia's decision to let her compete at the Beijing Winter Games. "The act has been used to protect one Olympic Games," Tygart said, referring to last year's Tokyo Games. "It is going to be used to protect other Olympic Games when people continue to dope. "You cannot make it up. We are living in the twilight zone. Clean athletes deserve better, and this poor young woman deserves better. She's getting chewed up (for doping) on top of being abused by the Russian state system." The RADA gives U.S. authorities the power to prosecute individuals for doping schemes at international events involving American athletes, sponsors or broadcasters. It was named after Grigory Rodchenkov, a former Russia anti-doping laboratory head who turned whistleblower and helped expose Russia's state-sponsored doping following the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. Russia has acknowledged some shortcomings in its implementation of anti-doping rules but denies running a state-sponsored doping programme. Valieva delivered one of the highlights of the Beijing Games so far when she landed the first quadruple jumps by a woman in Olympic competition on Monday. Also Read: From Russia doping row to 'inedible' food: Controversies galore at Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 Her Olympic dream, however, turned into a nightmare on Friday when the ITA revealed publicly that she had tested positive for banned angina drug Trimetazidine in a urine sample collected by Russian authorities at the national championships in St Petersburg on Dec 25. The testing lab in Stockholm, Sweden, reported on Tuesday that her sample was positive, the day after she wowed the world and helped win the gold for her team, who are competing as the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) due to doping sanctions. It was not immediately clear why there was such a delay between her test and the result, which allowed her to travel to Beijing and take part in the first of her two events. "Whoever was dealing with it simply, absolutely should have expedited it," Tygart said. "It is not that difficult to do. A five-week delay for a substance like this should not have happened. "It is a catastrophic failure of the system to allow the star of the Games to have her sample not reported back close to five weeks, and then it gets reported the day after they won the team event. "You shouldn’t be in a government or sport and (be) able to dope athletes and there be no consequence. It was exactly what happened in state-sponsored doping, and this is why the Rodchenkov Act was passed. It's the only way to address this behaviour. "Many of us were disappointed in the initial state-sponsored doping (in Russia) that was exposed back in 2015, that those who orchestrated and conspired to abuse young athletes ... were not held accountable by their sport or their own governments." Russian athletes at the Games are not competing under their flag, and their anthem is not played at any ceremonies following sanctions imposed for the widespread doping across many sports exposed after the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The sanctions are due to be lifted at the end of the year, but the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency cautioned earlier this month that Russia should not assume this would happen automatically.

Beijing Winter Olympics: US Could Prosecute Russians in Kamila Valieva doping case, says USADA Chief

American-Chinese athlete Zhu Yi is being shamed on Weibo for stumbling twice during her performance at the Beijing Winter Olympics. The 19-yr-old skater gave up her American citizenship to represent China, she's now being trolled by Chinese citizens. Palki Sharma gets you a report.

Gravitas Ukraine Direct: 'Shame On You' US-born Chinese athlete faces abuse

They were the feel-good story of the Winter Olympics in 2018: young women from a remote farming county who catapulted South Korea to curling glory by winning its first Olympic medal in the sport.

Then, that same year, the team the Korean press had nicknamed the “Garlic Girls” (in a nod to the iconic produce of their region) shocked the country by accusing their coaches of verbal and psychological abuse.

Nine months after their victory at the Games, the team called a surprise news conference during which they aired their grievances against their two coaches and the father of one of the coaches, who was also the vice president of the Korean Curling Federation.

The Garlic Girls said the trio swore at them, berated them if they interacted with other athletes, banned them from using social media and withheld their prize money. They also tried to sideline the team captain, Kim Eun-jung, after learning of her plans to start a family.

“To be honest, I’m not completely sure if we’re over this yet,” Kim Kyeong-ae, a team member, wrote in an email to The New York Times as she prepared for the Beijing Winter Olympics this month.

While some of South Korea’s top athletes have grown used to decades of harsh training and abuse, a younger generation has started to push back, inspired at least in part by the Garlic Girls.

Their news conference helped revive painful discussions about the mistreatment of athletes in South Korea, where nepotism, exploitation and misconduct have been common for decades. Elite sports in the country are notoriously hierarchical, with men often on top and athletes told not to question orders.

In 2008, the government’s National Human Rights Commission said nearly 80% of student athletes in middle and high schools had been subjected to physical and verbal abuse from their coaches and older teammates.

After the Garlic Girls spoke out, there was an outpouring of other accounts of abuse, including from Shim Suk-hee, a member of South Korea’s national short-track speedskating team and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, who said she had been repeatedly raped by her former coach. (Last year he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.)

Several female athletes in judo, taekwondo and wrestling also came forward to accuse their male coaches of sexual abuse.

In February 2019, after an investigation, the government said that most of the allegations made by the Garlic Girls were true. The two coaches and Kim Kyung-doo, the curling official, were banned from the sport for life.

And for the first time, South Korea appointed three foreign coaches to lead the women’s, men’s and mixed double curling teams at the Olympics. The Garlic Girls are set to compete against Canada in Beijing on Thursday in a round-robin match.

“Although we can’t know of and change all the corruption in the sporting world, at least in this sport we can reveal what has been going on in the hopes that it won’t happen again,” Kim Kyeong-ae, 28, wrote in her email.

But those who speak out risk being sidelined or criticized. Coaches have immense control over their athletes, who are recruited at a young age and live in dormitories. Many of them are taken out of school and feel they have no career options if they fail.

Oh Ji-hoon, a former speedskater who has trained in both the United States and South Korea, said that Korean athletes typically don’t question their coaches’ methods of discipline and training because they get used to it from a young age.

“In Korea, training programs are way more intense than those of the U.S.,” Oh said. “There is less leeway, much less flexibility and, candidly, it’s fairly common for coaches to yell at skaters.”

After the curling team went public with their accusations, Peter Gallant, a Canadian coach who guided them to their silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, backed the players.

Gallant is now the team’s head coach, and curling experts say his experience is likely to propel the Garlic Girls to greater heights. The team adores him, referring to him as “Appa,” or father in Korean. In an email, Gallant noted that the level of respect the curlers have for those who are older than them is so high that “nothing is really questioned” during practice.

That is not necessarily good.

“A coach wants his athletes to ask questions,” he added.

Four of the five Garlic Girls come from Uiseong, a farming community and a seemingly unlikely site for a sporting revolution. The rural town of 53,000 people uses a cartoon garlic bulb as the county mascot.

The Garlic Girls have said their previous coaches often made them feel ashamed for not coming from a major city.

“It’s useless training people from the countryside,” they recalled being told.

Uiseong, however, is home to one of South Korea’s first curling facilities, built in 2006 after a former government official saw the sport on a trip to Canada.

Kim Eun-jung, the captain, and currently ranked seventh in the world, fell in love with the sport after trying it during gym class in middle school. She encouraged classmate Kim Yeong-mi to join, followed by her younger sister, Kim Kyeong-ae.

Kim Cho-hi, the only team member not from Uiseong, also started curling in middle school, but in Gyeonggi province, just outside of Seoul.

Because they all have the same surname, the Garlic Girls are also known as Team Kim. To differentiate themselves, each chose a nickname honoring their favorite breakfast food. Kim Eun-jung is “Annie,” the name of a yogurt brand. Kim Yeong-mi is “Pancake,” while her sister, Kyeong-ae, is “Steak.” Kim Cho-hi is “ChoCho,” a nod to chocolate cookies, which she loves to eat for breakfast. Kim Seon-yeong is “Sunny,” for sunny-side-up eggs.

The team was an underdog going into the 2018 Winter Olympics but pulled off upsets against Canada and Switzerland, two curling powerhouses. Almost overnight, the Garlic Girls became a sensation in a country that knew little about curling.

In the past two years, the pandemic has made practice challenging. Several competitions were canceled. And unlike teams from countries where curling has long been popular, the Garlic Girls often must travel abroad for competitions and training, which has meant dealing with quarantines and spending more time away from home.

But Gallant said the team’s experience with their previous coaches prepared them for the future, even with the pandemic. In an interview with Rocks Across the Pond, a curling podcast, he said there was no question that “it created a kind of toughness in them.”

“To do what they did, to make everything public, took a lot of courage and effort,” he said. “No matter what they face now, it’s not going to be as bad as that.”

They were the feel-good story of the Winter Olympics in 2018: young women from a remote farming county who catapulted South Korea to curling glory by winning its first Olympic medal in the sport.

They were the feel-good story of the Winter Olympics in 2018: young women from a remote farming county who catapulted South Korea to curling glory by winning its first Olympic medal in the sport. Then, that same year, the team the Korean press had nicknamed the “Garlic Girls” (in a nod to the iconic produce of their region) shocked the country by accusing their coaches of verbal and psychological abuse. Nine months after their victory at the Games, the team called a surprise news conference during which they aired their grievances against their two coaches and the father of one of the coaches, who was also the vice president of the Korean Curling Federation. The Garlic Girls said the trio swore at them, berated them if they interacted with other athletes, banned them from using social media and withheld their prize money. They also tried to sideline the team captain, Kim Eun-jung, after learning of her plans to start a family. “To be honest, I’m not completely sure if we’re over this yet,” Kim Kyeong-ae, a team member, wrote in an email to The New York Times as she prepared for the Beijing Winter Olympics this month. While some of South Korea’s top athletes have grown used to decades of harsh training and abuse, a younger generation has started to push back, inspired at least in part by the Garlic Girls. Their news conference helped revive painful discussions about the mistreatment of athletes in South Korea, where nepotism, exploitation and misconduct have been common for decades. Elite sports in the country are notoriously hierarchical, with men often on top and athletes told not to question orders. In 2008, the government’s National Human Rights Commission said nearly 80% of student athletes in middle and high schools had been subjected to physical and verbal abuse from their coaches and older teammates. After the Garlic Girls spoke out, there was an outpouring of other accounts of abuse, including from Shim Suk-hee, a member of South Korea’s national short-track speedskating team and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, who said she had been repeatedly raped by her former coach. (Last year he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.) Several female athletes in judo, taekwondo and wrestling also came forward to accuse their male coaches of sexual abuse. In February 2019, after an investigation, the government said that most of the allegations made by the Garlic Girls were true. The two coaches and Kim Kyung-doo, the curling official, were banned from the sport for life. And for the first time, South Korea appointed three foreign coaches to lead the women’s, men’s and mixed double curling teams at the Olympics. The Garlic Girls are set to compete against Canada in Beijing on Thursday in a round-robin match. “Although we can’t know of and change all the corruption in the sporting world, at least in this sport we can reveal what has been going on in the hopes that it won’t happen again,” Kim Kyeong-ae, 28, wrote in her email. But those who speak out risk being sidelined or criticized. Coaches have immense control over their athletes, who are recruited at a young age and live in dormitories. Many of them are taken out of school and feel they have no career options if they fail. Oh Ji-hoon, a former speedskater who has trained in both the United States and South Korea, said that Korean athletes typically don’t question their coaches’ methods of discipline and training because they get used to it from a young age. “In Korea, training programs are way more intense than those of the U.S.,” Oh said. “There is less leeway, much less flexibility and, candidly, it’s fairly common for coaches to yell at skaters.” After the curling team went public with their accusations, Peter Gallant, a Canadian coach who guided them to their silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics, backed the players. Gallant is now the team’s head coach, and curling experts say his experience is likely to propel the Garlic Girls to greater heights. The team adores him, referring to him as “Appa,” or father in Korean. In an email, Gallant noted that the level of respect the curlers have for those who are older than them is so high that “nothing is really questioned” during practice. That is not necessarily good. “A coach wants his athletes to ask questions,” he added. Four of the five Garlic Girls come from Uiseong, a farming community and a seemingly unlikely site for a sporting revolution. The rural town of 53,000 people uses a cartoon garlic bulb as the county mascot. The Garlic Girls have said their previous coaches often made them feel ashamed for not coming from a major city. “It’s useless training people from the countryside,” they recalled being told. Uiseong, however, is home to one of South Korea’s first curling facilities, built in 2006 after a former government official saw the sport on a trip to Canada. Kim Eun-jung, the captain, and currently ranked seventh in the world, fell in love with the sport after trying it during gym class in middle school. She encouraged classmate Kim Yeong-mi to join, followed by her younger sister, Kim Kyeong-ae. Kim Cho-hi, the only team member not from Uiseong, also started curling in middle school, but in Gyeonggi province, just outside of Seoul. Because they all have the same surname, the Garlic Girls are also known as Team Kim. To differentiate themselves, each chose a nickname honoring their favorite breakfast food. Kim Eun-jung is “Annie,” the name of a yogurt brand. Kim Yeong-mi is “Pancake,” while her sister, Kyeong-ae, is “Steak.” Kim Cho-hi is “ChoCho,” a nod to chocolate cookies, which she loves to eat for breakfast. Kim Seon-yeong is “Sunny,” for sunny-side-up eggs. The team was an underdog going into the 2018 Winter Olympics but pulled off upsets against Canada and Switzerland, two curling powerhouses. Almost overnight, the Garlic Girls became a sensation in a country that knew little about curling. In the past two years, the pandemic has made practice challenging. Several competitions were canceled. And unlike teams from countries where curling has long been popular, the Garlic Girls often must travel abroad for competitions and training, which has meant dealing with quarantines and spending more time away from home. But Gallant said the team’s experience with their previous coaches prepared them for the future, even with the pandemic. In an interview with Rocks Across the Pond, a curling podcast, he said there was no question that “it created a kind of toughness in them.” “To do what they did, to make everything public, took a lot of courage and effort,” he said. “No matter what they face now, it’s not going to be as bad as that.”

How the ‘Garlic Girls’ overcame abuse to return to the Olympics

China is already facing massive criticism from all corners for staging the ongoing Winter Olympics 2022 in Beijing despite surging cases of COVID-19 among the Games-related personnel and athletes. New issues at the Games have now come to light as a Russian athlete has alleged the food being served to COVID-19 positive athletes at the Games is 'inedible' and 'impossible' to eat.

Accusations such as inedible meals, not enough food for the athletes and the lack of training equipment have already surfaced at the Beijing Games with the athletes, who are in quarantine, slamming the organisers for unfair treatment. Russia's biathlon competitor Valeria Vasnetsova, who is among the athletes to have tested positive for COVID-19 during the Winter Games in Beijing, took to Instagram to share her horror story.

Vasnetsova took to her Instagram story to share a picture of food being served to her in one of the quarantine hotels in Beijing. In the picture shared by her, the tray of food includes plain pasta, a few potatoes, charred meat on a bone and an orange sauce. Vasnetsova said it was "breakfast, lunch and dinner for five days already".&nbsp;

The Russian alleged she has cried every day since being kept in quarantine and that her bones have started sticking out already due to a lack of nutritious and proper diet. She asserted she was 'tired' and wants all of it to end soon.

"My stomach hurts, I'm very pale and I have huge black circles around my eyes. I want all this to end. I cry every day. I'm very tired," Vasnetsova wrote on her Instagram with the picture of the food served to her.

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/zhu-yi-who-gave-up-us-citizenship-to-compete-for-china-slammed-after-poor-show-at-beijing-winter-olympics-451484">Zhu Yi, who gave up US citizenship to compete for China, slammed after poor show at Beijing Winter Olympics</a>

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She claimed she has been surviving on a few pieces of pasta but had to eat all the fat served to her on the day she shared the picture, as she was very hungry and was losing weight at a significant pace. "But today I ate all the fat they serve instead of meat because I was very hungry. my bones are already sticking out," she wrote.

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/no-large-fluctuations-in-covid-19-cases-expected-say-beijing-winter-olympics-organisers-450939">No large fluctuations in COVID-19 cases expected, say Beijing Winter Olympics organisers</a>

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COVID positive athletes being starved at Beijing Winter Olympics?

Vasnetsova also went on to made a startling revelation in her post and claimed the athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 are being served less and poor quality meals compared to the normal Games-related personnel who are in the quarantine hotels in Beijing.

She revealed while picking up the food left for her outside her door in the quarantine hotel, she noticed that the boxes left outside the other rooms in her corridor were different. The doors have been labelled with signs to distinguish Olympians and people working at the Games. The Russian claimed the food being served to non-athletes was different and the box for the athletes had worse food.

She also shared the details of the food served to her team doctor, who also tested positive for COVID-19 and was kept in quarantine at the same hotel. Vasnetsova said the team doctor was served fresh fruit, a salad and prawns with broccoli. "I honestly don't understand, why is there this attitude to us, the athletes?" - the Russian wrote.

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Is China using quarantines to rig the Olympics? 
 
A Russian athlete, Valeria Vasnetsova, has blown the whistle. 
 
She says foreign athletes who test positive for covid are being starved, so they can't compete even if they recover. 🧵 <a href="https://t.co/tM79dQZEID">pic.twitter.com/tM79dQZEID</a>
— Clint Ehrlich (@ClintEhrlich) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClintEhrlich/status/1490025482821062659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The organisers were quick to address Vasnetsova's concerns, and as per a report in the Associated Press, the Russian biathlon team spokesperson Sergei Averyanov confirmed better food was served to her. He also added that the athlete will also be given a stationary bike soon for training.

China is already facing massive criticism from all corners for staging the ongoing Winter Olympics 2022 in Beijing despite surging cases of COVID-19 among the Games-related personnel and athletes.

China is already facing massive criticism from all corners for staging the ongoing Winter Olympics 2022 in Beijing despite surging cases of COVID-19 among the Games-related personnel and athletes. New issues at the Games have now come to light as a Russian athlete has alleged the food being served to COVID-19 positive athletes at the Games is 'inedible' and 'impossible' to eat. Accusations such as inedible meals, not enough food for the athletes and the lack of training equipment have already surfaced at the Beijing Games with the athletes, who are in quarantine, slamming the organisers for unfair treatment. Russia's biathlon competitor Valeria Vasnetsova, who is among the athletes to have tested positive for COVID-19 during the Winter Games in Beijing, took to Instagram to share her horror story. Vasnetsova took to her Instagram story to share a picture of food being served to her in one of the quarantine hotels in Beijing. In the picture shared by her, the tray of food includes plain pasta, a few potatoes, charred meat on a bone and an orange sauce. Vasnetsova said it was "breakfast, lunch and dinner for five days already". The Russian alleged she has cried every day since being kept in quarantine and that her bones have started sticking out already due to a lack of nutritious and proper diet. She asserted she was 'tired' and wants all of it to end soon. "My stomach hurts, I'm very pale and I have huge black circles around my eyes. I want all this to end. I cry every day. I'm very tired," Vasnetsova wrote on her Instagram with the picture of the food served to her. ALSO READ | Zhu Yi, who gave up US citizenship to compete for China, slammed after poor show at Beijing Winter Olympics She claimed she has been surviving on a few pieces of pasta but had to eat all the fat served to her on the day she shared the picture, as she was very hungry and was losing weight at a significant pace. "But today I ate all the fat they serve instead of meat because I was very hungry. my bones are already sticking out," she wrote. Also Read: No large fluctuations in COVID-19 cases expected, say Beijing Winter Olympics organisers × COVID positive athletes being starved at Beijing Winter Olympics? Vasnetsova also went on to made a startling revelation in her post and claimed the athletes who have tested positive for COVID-19 are being served less and poor quality meals compared to the normal Games-related personnel who are in the quarantine hotels in Beijing. She revealed while picking up the food left for her outside her door in the quarantine hotel, she noticed that the boxes left outside the other rooms in her corridor were different. The doors have been labelled with signs to distinguish Olympians and people working at the Games. The Russian claimed the food being served to non-athletes was different and the box for the athletes had worse food. She also shared the details of the food served to her team doctor, who also tested positive for COVID-19 and was kept in quarantine at the same hotel. Vasnetsova said the team doctor was served fresh fruit, a salad and prawns with broccoli. "I honestly don't understand, why is there this attitude to us, the athletes?" - the Russian wrote. Is China using quarantines to rig the Olympics? A Russian athlete, Valeria Vasnetsova, has blown the whistle. She says foreign athletes who test positive for covid are being starved, so they can't compete even if they recover. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/tM79dQZEID — Clint Ehrlich (@ClintEhrlich) February 5, 2022 × The organisers were quick to address Vasnetsova's concerns, and as per a report in the Associated Press, the Russian biathlon team spokesperson Sergei Averyanov confirmed better food was served to her. He also added that the athlete will also be given a stationary bike soon for training.

'My bones are sticking out': Russian athlete slams Beijing Games organisers over inedible food

Infected athletes in China's Quarantine camps for the Beijing Winter Olympics are sharing stories of horror. They're lashing out over bad food, dirty rooms & miscommunication by Chinese authorities. Palki Sharma gets you a report on their ordeal.

Gravitas Ukraine Direct: Infected Athletes in China's Quarantine camps lash out

Complaints of athletes participating in the Beijing winter Olympic games are piling up. In the latest, the coach of the Finland men's ice hockey team has accused China of not respecting the players' human rights besides other complaints that include the isolation conditions to confusing procedures around being allowed to leave, our next report gets you the details.

Finland hockey coach accused China of not respecting players' human rights

Alexander Bolshunov, representing the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), won the gold medal in the men`s 2x15 km skiathlon at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday. Bolshunov's teammate Denis Spitsov took the silver medal, with Finland`s Iivo Niskanen coming in third to take the bronze.

Alexander Bolshunov, representing the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), won the gold medal in the men`s 2x15 km skiathlon at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday. Bolshunov's teammate Denis Spitsov took the silver medal, with Finland`s Iivo Niskanen coming in third to take the bronze.

Beijing Winter Olympics: Russian Alexander Bolshunov wins skiathlon gold

"The torchbearers of the Beijing Winter Olympics games are broadly representative and they meet relevant standards", says China amid widespread criticism over its move to field a PLA soldier involved in the border clash with Indian soldiers at the Galwan Valley in 2020 as a torchbearer.

Move to field Galwan soldier in Beijing Winter Olympics torch relay met standards, says China

Chinese President Xi Jinping met the leaders of several more countries on Saturday as Beijing used the start of the Winter Olympics to score diplomatic points amid simmering tensions with the United States.

Following a groundbreaking agreement with Russia on Friday over Taiwan and against NATO expansion, Xi held meetings with the leaders of Serbia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and hosted a banquet at Beijing`s Great Hall of the People.

Over 30 foreign leaders travelled to Beijing to attend Friday`s opening ceremony. But the United States and other Western countries have subjected the Winter Games to a diplomatic boycott amid rising geopolitical tensions and allegations of human rights abuses in China`s northwestern region of Xinjiang.

The Global Times, run by the ruling Communist Party`s People`s Daily, hit back at foreign media reports that the event had attracted only "authoritarian" leaders, accusing them in an editorial of using "outdated anti-China cliches". 
Saturday`s Lunar New Year-themed banquet was the first time the Chinese president has joined a gathering of state leaders since before the outbreak of COVID-19 in late 2019.

Toasting his fellow leaders, Xi expressed "heartfelt thanks to all governments, peoples and international organisations who care about and support the Beijing Winter Olympics".

"China has made every effort to overcome the impact of the coronavirus epidemic, earnestly fulfilled its solemn commitments to the international community and ensured the Beijing Winter Olympics is being held as scheduled," Xi said in a speech published by Xinhua news agency.

The People`s Daily described strengthened China-Russian relations - announced by Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin after they met on Friday - as "an important guarantee for maintaining an international strategic balance, world peace and stability". The Global Times called it the start of a new era "not defined by the United States".

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/host-nation-china-wins-its-first-gold-at-the-beijing-winter-olympics-2022-450882">Host nation China wins its first gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022</a>

Xi held individual meetings with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Serbia`s President Aleksandar Vucic and President Abdel Fatta Al-Sisi of Egypt on Saturday morning, Xinhua news agency reported, discussing Belt and Road-related infrastructure investments and cooperation in the fight against COVID-19.

He also told Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov that the two sides should deepen cooperation on supplying natural gas to China.

Xi also met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, while Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held meetings with Ecuador`s President Guillermo Lasso, Singapore`s President Halimah Yacob and the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Kevin Rudd, former prime minister of Australia and president of the Asia Society, described the joint statement issued by Xi and Putin as "highly significant".

It was "the first time since the Sino-Soviet split that China`s taken a definitive position on European security to support Russia on something as fundamental as NATO", Rudd wrote on Saturday.

The "no limits" agreement https for a strategic partnership included Russian support for China`s opposition to any form of independence for Taiwan, and China`s backing for Russian opposition to further expansion of NATO.

Russia has amassed 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine as it tries to pressure the country into ruling out future NATO membership for the country. Moscow has denied its plans to invade.

Taiwan`s Foreign Ministry called the timing of the agreement "contemptible" and added that the Chinese government was bringing shame to the spirit of the Games.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met the leaders of several more countries on Saturday as Beijing used the start of the Winter Olympics to score diplomatic points amid simmering tensions with the United States.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met the leaders of several more countries on Saturday as Beijing used the start of the Winter Olympics to score diplomatic points amid simmering tensions with the United States. Following a groundbreaking agreement with Russia on Friday over Taiwan and against NATO expansion, Xi held meetings with the leaders of Serbia, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and hosted a banquet at Beijing`s Great Hall of the People. Over 30 foreign leaders travelled to Beijing to attend Friday`s opening ceremony. But the United States and other Western countries have subjected the Winter Games to a diplomatic boycott amid rising geopolitical tensions and allegations of human rights abuses in China`s northwestern region of Xinjiang. The Global Times, run by the ruling Communist Party`s People`s Daily, hit back at foreign media reports that the event had attracted only "authoritarian" leaders, accusing them in an editorial of using "outdated anti-China cliches". Saturday`s Lunar New Year-themed banquet was the first time the Chinese president has joined a gathering of state leaders since before the outbreak of COVID-19 in late 2019. Toasting his fellow leaders, Xi expressed "heartfelt thanks to all governments, peoples and international organisations who care about and support the Beijing Winter Olympics". "China has made every effort to overcome the impact of the coronavirus epidemic, earnestly fulfilled its solemn commitments to the international community and ensured the Beijing Winter Olympics is being held as scheduled," Xi said in a speech published by Xinhua news agency. The People`s Daily described strengthened China-Russian relations - announced by Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin after they met on Friday - as "an important guarantee for maintaining an international strategic balance, world peace and stability". The Global Times called it the start of a new era "not defined by the United States". Also Read: Host nation China wins its first gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 Xi held individual meetings with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Serbia`s President Aleksandar Vucic and President Abdel Fatta Al-Sisi of Egypt on Saturday morning, Xinhua news agency reported, discussing Belt and Road-related infrastructure investments and cooperation in the fight against COVID-19. He also told Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov that the two sides should deepen cooperation on supplying natural gas to China. Xi also met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, while Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held meetings with Ecuador`s President Guillermo Lasso, Singapore`s President Halimah Yacob and the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Kevin Rudd, former prime minister of Australia and president of the Asia Society, described the joint statement issued by Xi and Putin as "highly significant". It was "the first time since the Sino-Soviet split that China`s taken a definitive position on European security to support Russia on something as fundamental as NATO", Rudd wrote on Saturday. The "no limits" agreement https for a strategic partnership included Russian support for China`s opposition to any form of independence for Taiwan, and China`s backing for Russian opposition to further expansion of NATO. Russia has amassed 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine as it tries to pressure the country into ruling out future NATO membership for the country. Moscow has denied its plans to invade. Taiwan`s Foreign Ministry called the timing of the agreement "contemptible" and added that the Chinese government was bringing shame to the spirit of the Games.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets more heads of state in Winter Olympics diplomatic push

While China spent billions to showcase its power and Beijing's return to the global stage after the pandemic, the tensions in Ukraine have overshadowed the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Watch this report by Palki Sharma from Kyiv.

Ukraine crisis overshadows the Beijing Winter Olympics

South Korean leaders and activists accused China of “stealing” their culture after a lady performer wore a traditional Korean dress during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

During the event on Friday, a woman was seen wearing a Korean conventional costume— a white and light purple hanbok dress—while appearing amongst those representing China’s totally different ‘ethnic’ teams.

The South Korean leaders viewed it as a “rude” act of appropriating the tradition of a sovereign state.

“We deeply regret that hanbok appeared among the costumes of Chinese minorities at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics,” wrote lawmaker from the ruling party, Lee So-young, on her Facebook web page on Saturday.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/beijing-is-hosting-2022-winter-olympics-with-100-artificial-snow-report-450701">Beijing is hosting 2022 Winter Olympics with 100% artificial snow: Report</a>

Apparently, this is not the first time that China has been accused of laying claim to their culture.

Recently, China was slammed after it recently claimed that many major Korean cultural items, including kimchi, a national dish of fermented cabbage, were of Chinese origin.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/putin-falls-asleep-as-ukraine-athletes-enter-beijing-stadium-during-olympics-opening-ceremony-450552">Putin falls asleep as Ukraine athletes enter Beijing stadium during Olympics opening ceremony</a>

“This is not the first time China has introduced Korean culture as if it were its own… If the anti-China sentiment of the Korean people becomes stronger by leaving this issue as is, it will be a big obstacle when conducting diplomacy with China in the future,” Lee stated.

Although the South Korean authorities have not launched an official assertion, Culture Minister Hwang Hee informed South Korean media on Saturday that referring to individuals as a minority signifies that it has not to turn into a sovereign nation, which might trigger “misunderstanding” in bilateral relations, in line with Yonhap.

(With inputs from agencies)

South Korean leaders and activists accused China of “stealing” their culture after a lady performer wore a traditional Korean dress during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

South Korean leaders and activists accused China of “stealing” their culture after a lady performer wore a traditional Korean dress during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. During the event on Friday, a woman was seen wearing a Korean conventional costume— a white and light purple hanbok dress—while appearing amongst those representing China’s totally different ‘ethnic’ teams. The South Korean leaders viewed it as a “rude” act of appropriating the tradition of a sovereign state. “We deeply regret that hanbok appeared among the costumes of Chinese minorities at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics,” wrote lawmaker from the ruling party, Lee So-young, on her Facebook web page on Saturday. Also read | Beijing is hosting 2022 Winter Olympics with 100% artificial snow: Report Apparently, this is not the first time that China has been accused of laying claim to their culture. Recently, China was slammed after it recently claimed that many major Korean cultural items, including kimchi, a national dish of fermented cabbage, were of Chinese origin. Also read | Putin falls asleep as Ukraine athletes enter Beijing stadium during Olympics opening ceremony “This is not the first time China has introduced Korean culture as if it were its own… If the anti-China sentiment of the Korean people becomes stronger by leaving this issue as is, it will be a big obstacle when conducting diplomacy with China in the future,” Lee stated. Although the South Korean authorities have not launched an official assertion, Culture Minister Hwang Hee informed South Korean media on Saturday that referring to individuals as a minority signifies that it has not to turn into a sovereign nation, which might trigger “misunderstanding” in bilateral relations, in line with Yonhap. (With inputs from agencies)

2022 Beijing Winter Olympics: South Korea accuses China of ‘appropriating Korean culture’

The 2022 Winter Olympics have kicked off in Beijing amid protests the world over. Protesters in India, Japan, Switzerland & US staged demonstrations slamming the 'genocide games'. Some even accused the IOC of being complicit in China's crimes. Palki Sharma gets you a report.

Gravitas: 'Genocide Games' kick off amid protests globally

Remy Boehler sleeps just four hours a night during the Beijing Olympics to make sure athletes can skate at the Capital Indoor Stadium. 
 
The venue that hosted the `Ping Pong Diplomacy` matches in 1971 has been renovated to welcome the figure skating and short track speed skating events at the Winter Games. 
 
It is ice master Boehler`s task to keep the rink in top shape for two competitions that require different surfaces. 
 
"I leave the place around 3 a.m. with the last team and I come in around 6:30-7 a.m. for the first practice session," the 45-year-old Frenchman, who arrived in Beijing a month ago, told Reuters. 
 
"For the figure skating, the ice needs to be softer than for the short track, where speed is essential. 
 
"So for figure skating events the ice must be at -3.5 degrees Celsius and it needs to be at -7 for short track. It is a big difference, and you cannot do it too quickly otherwise the ice cracks." 
 
Boehler said water is the key to getting it right. 
 
"For each resurfacing, we have a team of patchers to fix the holes and we use about 800 litres of water to remodel the ice. Then we use the resurfacing machines)," said Boehler, who heads a team of 20 including 12 Chinese pilots and four interpreters. 
 
"And the quality of the water is essential. The Chinese have done a great work in improving it in the last months." 
 
For Boehler and his team, time is of the essence. 
 
Some days the rink is used by both for figure skating and short track, leaving only three hours to redesign the ice, with an hour of that needed to change the padding around the rink. 
 
Boehler, who was also the ice master at the Pyeongchang Olympics four years ago, worked on the Capital Indoor Stadium`s ice at the test events last October. 
 
"Contrary to Pyeongchang, where everything was new, this place has a soul," the former ice hockey player, who started to learn the job as a student at the 1992 Albertville Games, said. 
 
The ice master`s job has been made easier by technology in recent years, with temperature probes providing greater precision, but Boehler said the `ear factor` remains key. 
 
"After you`ve worked on the ice, you listen to the skating and get a feeling of the ice`s texture, if it`s too hard or too soft," he added. "And the biggest satisfaction comes from the athletes saying they`re happy with the ice. 
 
"If you get it wrong, it`s not like fixing the light, which you can just switch or off." 
 
The quality of the ice has been praised repeatedly by the skaters in Beijing. 
 
After his role in China comes to an end Boehler will head back to France, where he will be taking care of the ice at the figure skating world championships in Montpellier in March. 
&nbsp;

Remy Boehler sleeps just four hours a night during the Beijing Olympics to make sure athletes can skate at the Capital Indoor Stadium. The venue that hosted the `Ping Pong Diplomacy` matches in 1971 has been renovated to welcome the figure skating and short track speed skating events at the Winter Games.

Remy Boehler sleeps just four hours a night during the Beijing Olympics to make sure athletes can skate at the Capital Indoor Stadium. The venue that hosted the `Ping Pong Diplomacy` matches in 1971 has been renovated to welcome the figure skating and short track speed skating events at the Winter Games. It is ice master Boehler`s task to keep the rink in top shape for two competitions that require different surfaces. "I leave the place around 3 a.m. with the last team and I come in around 6:30-7 a.m. for the first practice session," the 45-year-old Frenchman, who arrived in Beijing a month ago, told Reuters. "For the figure skating, the ice needs to be softer than for the short track, where speed is essential. "So for figure skating events the ice must be at -3.5 degrees Celsius and it needs to be at -7 for short track. It is a big difference, and you cannot do it too quickly otherwise the ice cracks." Boehler said water is the key to getting it right. "For each resurfacing, we have a team of patchers to fix the holes and we use about 800 litres of water to remodel the ice. Then we use the resurfacing machines)," said Boehler, who heads a team of 20 including 12 Chinese pilots and four interpreters. "And the quality of the water is essential. The Chinese have done a great work in improving it in the last months." For Boehler and his team, time is of the essence. Some days the rink is used by both for figure skating and short track, leaving only three hours to redesign the ice, with an hour of that needed to change the padding around the rink. Boehler, who was also the ice master at the Pyeongchang Olympics four years ago, worked on the Capital Indoor Stadium`s ice at the test events last October. "Contrary to Pyeongchang, where everything was new, this place has a soul," the former ice hockey player, who started to learn the job as a student at the 1992 Albertville Games, said. The ice master`s job has been made easier by technology in recent years, with temperature probes providing greater precision, but Boehler said the `ear factor` remains key. "After you`ve worked on the ice, you listen to the skating and get a feeling of the ice`s texture, if it`s too hard or too soft," he added. "And the biggest satisfaction comes from the athletes saying they`re happy with the ice. "If you get it wrong, it`s not like fixing the light, which you can just switch or off." The quality of the ice has been praised repeatedly by the skaters in Beijing. After his role in China comes to an end Boehler will head back to France, where he will be taking care of the ice at the figure skating world championships in Montpellier in March.

Sleepless nights for ice master to ensure best skating conditions for athletes at Beijing Winter Olympics

Norway nabbed the first gold medal of the Winter Games on Saturday as the politics dominating the Beijing Olympics began to make room for the snowy feats of the world`s best athletes. Norwegian Therese Johaug&nbsp;powered to victory to take the gold medal in the women`s skiathlon race, well ahead of Russian Natalia Nepryaeva and Austria`s Teresa Stadlober, who snagged the bronze medal.

Further back in 43rd place was Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a 20-year-old cross-country skier whose role as a final torchbearer for China in the opening ceremony continued to make waves.

The selection of Yilamujiang nL8N2UG08W, from Altay in China`s western Xinjiang region, as one of two final torchbearers came as many western nations diplomatically boycotted the Games over China`s treatment of Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minority groups. China rejects allegations of human rights abuses.

The International Olympic Committee on Saturday insisted Yilamujiang`s ethnicity had nothing to do with her selection. 
"She has every right, wherever she comes from, whatever her background, to compete... and to take part in any ceremony," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams.

Chinese president Xi Jinping, who triumphantly opened the Games on Friday night in a partially-filled Bird`s Nest stadium, continued his diplomatic push on the Games` sidelines.

The day after forming a groundbreaking alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin against the West, Xi met with leaders of Serbia, Egypt, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan ahead of a Lunar New Year-themed banquet at Beijing`s Great Hall of the People.

Toasting his fellow leaders, Xi expressed "heartfelt thanks to all governments, peoples and international organisations who care about and support the Beijing Winter Olympics."

It was unclear if Putin had attended the lunch, or if he would watch any competition before leaving Beijing. Women hockey players from the Russian Olympic Committee were due to play the United States later on Saturday night.

In a stunning collision of sports and politics not seen since the Cold War era, Xi and Putin on Friday declared a no-limit partnership on the sidelines of the Games, backing each other over Ukraine and Taiwan and inking new deals on energy and trade.

Taiwan condemned the `contemptible` timing of the partnership, while the United States said Xi had wasted an opportunity to take action on Ukraine.

Beijing`s slopes were not without their own controversy. Switzerland`s Marco Odermatt hit out at Olympic ski organisers after Saturday`s downhill training was cancelled with just three runners having completed the course.

The number of cases of COVID-19 cases inside the Games bubble hit the second-highest since arrivals began after 45 new cases were detected on Feb. 4. Organisers said the situation was under control and cases were confined to a `closed loop`.

The 2022 Winter Games are being held in Beijing in extraordinary circumstances with metal fences, robot bartenders, workers in hazmat suits and strict mask policies meant to prevent the spread of coronavirus. At least one athlete said he was determined to make the most of it.

American snowboarder Shaun White, who became the face of the sport, winning three gold medals, said on Saturday the Beijing Olympics would be his last snowboarding competition and that he would retire from all contests. White, 35, said he was "enjoying every moment" of his final Olympics in Beijing.

White said he had decided to retire recently, during a quiet moment when he got lost and had to take a chair-lift over an empty mountain by himself.

"I was watching ... the sun go down and it just hit me," he said.

"It was very sad and a surreal moment but really joyous as well," said White, adding that he "broke down" a little before calling his friends and family to tell them of his decision.

Norway nabbed the first gold medal of the Winter Games on Saturday as the politics dominating the Beijing Olympics began to make room for the snowy feats of the world`s best athletes.

Norway nabbed the first gold medal of the Winter Games on Saturday as the politics dominating the Beijing Olympics began to make room for the snowy feats of the world`s best athletes. Norwegian Therese Johaug powered to victory to take the gold medal in the women`s skiathlon race, well ahead of Russian Natalia Nepryaeva and Austria`s Teresa Stadlober, who snagged the bronze medal. Further back in 43rd place was Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a 20-year-old cross-country skier whose role as a final torchbearer for China in the opening ceremony continued to make waves. The selection of Yilamujiang nL8N2UG08W, from Altay in China`s western Xinjiang region, as one of two final torchbearers came as many western nations diplomatically boycotted the Games over China`s treatment of Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minority groups. China rejects allegations of human rights abuses. The International Olympic Committee on Saturday insisted Yilamujiang`s ethnicity had nothing to do with her selection. "She has every right, wherever she comes from, whatever her background, to compete... and to take part in any ceremony," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. Chinese president Xi Jinping, who triumphantly opened the Games on Friday night in a partially-filled Bird`s Nest stadium, continued his diplomatic push on the Games` sidelines. The day after forming a groundbreaking alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin against the West, Xi met with leaders of Serbia, Egypt, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan ahead of a Lunar New Year-themed banquet at Beijing`s Great Hall of the People. Toasting his fellow leaders, Xi expressed "heartfelt thanks to all governments, peoples and international organisations who care about and support the Beijing Winter Olympics." It was unclear if Putin had attended the lunch, or if he would watch any competition before leaving Beijing. Women hockey players from the Russian Olympic Committee were due to play the United States later on Saturday night. In a stunning collision of sports and politics not seen since the Cold War era, Xi and Putin on Friday declared a no-limit partnership on the sidelines of the Games, backing each other over Ukraine and Taiwan and inking new deals on energy and trade. Taiwan condemned the `contemptible` timing of the partnership, while the United States said Xi had wasted an opportunity to take action on Ukraine. Beijing`s slopes were not without their own controversy. Switzerland`s Marco Odermatt hit out at Olympic ski organisers after Saturday`s downhill training was cancelled with just three runners having completed the course. The number of cases of COVID-19 cases inside the Games bubble hit the second-highest since arrivals began after 45 new cases were detected on Feb. 4. Organisers said the situation was under control and cases were confined to a `closed loop`. The 2022 Winter Games are being held in Beijing in extraordinary circumstances with metal fences, robot bartenders, workers in hazmat suits and strict mask policies meant to prevent the spread of coronavirus. At least one athlete said he was determined to make the most of it. American snowboarder Shaun White, who became the face of the sport, winning three gold medals, said on Saturday the Beijing Olympics would be his last snowboarding competition and that he would retire from all contests. White, 35, said he was "enjoying every moment" of his final Olympics in Beijing. White said he had decided to retire recently, during a quiet moment when he got lost and had to take a chair-lift over an empty mountain by himself. "I was watching ... the sun go down and it just hit me," he said. "It was very sad and a surreal moment but really joyous as well," said White, adding that he "broke down" a little before calling his friends and family to tell them of his decision.

Norway's Therese Johaug bags first gold medal at Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

The 2022 Winter Olympics got underway in Beijing on Friday with 31-year-old Arif Khan from the Kashmir valley carrying the Indian tri-color at the opening ceremony.

31-year-old Arif Khan, the only Indian to qualify for 2022 Winter Olympics

COVID-19 cases inside Beijing`s Winter Olympic Games bubble hit the second-highest since arrivals began after 45 new cases were detected on Feb. 4, but organisers say the situation is under control and cases confined to the `closed loop`. 
 
The cases among Olympics-related personnel were up from 21 a day earlier while cases in the bubble that restricts the movements of Games participants, reached 19, compared with seven a day earlier. 
 
Feb. 2 saw the highest daily figure in the loop so far with 26 and the highest total daily figure with 55. 
 
Games organisers said that while cases within the loop could continue rising, there was no reason for concern. 
 
The loop allows athletes, officials and media to move between their accommodation and all Olympic venues, including the media centre, but on official transport only. 
 
However, they are forbidden to leave the bubble and move freely in the city, as China looks to minimise the risk of foreign visitors spreading the coronavirus during the Games. 
 
"The numbers (of overall positive cases) have been different every day," Huang Chun, the Games` deputy director-general of the office of pandemic prevention and control, told a news conference on Saturday. 
 
He said the different daily infection number from Games-related personnel, that had reached 55 on Feb. 2 and as few as two on Jan. 23, was related to the flight arrival times, with some tests conducted after midnight. 
 
"The day before yesterday we had almost 20 flights, many flights arriving at midnight," he said. "Some of the numbers have to be accumulated to the next day." 
 
Every participant has to arrive in Beijing with two negative PCR tests taken less than 96 hours prior to their departure. 
 
They are then tested at Beijing airport before undergoing a rigorous daily testing routine for the duration of their stay in China. 
 
"Even though the general number is increasing it is within our expectation," Huang said. "We think the number will start to decrease." 
 
So far 2,877 athletes have landed in Beijing with about 2,900 expected in total. Other arrivals include team support staff as well as sports and competition officials and media. 
 
A total of 353 Games participants have tested positive in Beijing since Jan. 23 both at the airport and in the loop. 
 
Dozens of athletes have tested positive, with many still in isolation and the Games officially under way since Friday. 
 
The latest cases involved two Swiss ice hockey players who went into isolation, according to the Swiss team on Saturday. 
 
"In general we think the situation is under control. The cases within the closed loop have not spread and they do not affect the competition," Huang said 
 
In contrast to many countries seeking to live with COVID-19, China has isolated itself with a zero-tolerance policy, cancelling nearly all international flights. 
 
 
 
(Additional reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Jacqueline Wong) 
&nbsp;

COVID-19 cases inside Beijing`s Winter Olympic Games bubble hit the second-highest since arrivals began after 45 new cases were detected on Feb. 4, but organisers say the situation is under control and cases confined to the `closed loop`.

COVID-19 cases inside Beijing`s Winter Olympic Games bubble hit the second-highest since arrivals began after 45 new cases were detected on Feb. 4, but organisers say the situation is under control and cases confined to the `closed loop`. The cases among Olympics-related personnel were up from 21 a day earlier while cases in the bubble that restricts the movements of Games participants, reached 19, compared with seven a day earlier. Feb. 2 saw the highest daily figure in the loop so far with 26 and the highest total daily figure with 55. Games organisers said that while cases within the loop could continue rising, there was no reason for concern. The loop allows athletes, officials and media to move between their accommodation and all Olympic venues, including the media centre, but on official transport only. However, they are forbidden to leave the bubble and move freely in the city, as China looks to minimise the risk of foreign visitors spreading the coronavirus during the Games. "The numbers (of overall positive cases) have been different every day," Huang Chun, the Games` deputy director-general of the office of pandemic prevention and control, told a news conference on Saturday. He said the different daily infection number from Games-related personnel, that had reached 55 on Feb. 2 and as few as two on Jan. 23, was related to the flight arrival times, with some tests conducted after midnight. "The day before yesterday we had almost 20 flights, many flights arriving at midnight," he said. "Some of the numbers have to be accumulated to the next day." Every participant has to arrive in Beijing with two negative PCR tests taken less than 96 hours prior to their departure. They are then tested at Beijing airport before undergoing a rigorous daily testing routine for the duration of their stay in China. "Even though the general number is increasing it is within our expectation," Huang said. "We think the number will start to decrease." So far 2,877 athletes have landed in Beijing with about 2,900 expected in total. Other arrivals include team support staff as well as sports and competition officials and media. A total of 353 Games participants have tested positive in Beijing since Jan. 23 both at the airport and in the loop. Dozens of athletes have tested positive, with many still in isolation and the Games officially under way since Friday. The latest cases involved two Swiss ice hockey players who went into isolation, according to the Swiss team on Saturday. "In general we think the situation is under control. The cases within the closed loop have not spread and they do not affect the competition," Huang said In contrast to many countries seeking to live with COVID-19, China has isolated itself with a zero-tolerance policy, cancelling nearly all international flights. (Additional reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Increased COVID-19 cases at Beijing Games no reason for concern, say Winter Olympics organisers

The Beijing Winter Olympics are officially underway, but Chinese authorities have demonstrated to the rest of the world that they will not permit any form of free press even during the games.

In an incredible clip from the Dutch broadcaster, one of the reporters covering the Games in Beijing is shown being manhandled by a security guard wearing a red armband.

Sjoerd den Daas, the reporter, attempted to continue his show while being held and screamed at by the guard, but NOS cut away to the studio.&nbsp; 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/beijings-genocide-games-kick-off-amid-backlash-from-all-across-the-world-450560">Also read | Beijing's 'Genocide Games' kick off amid backlash from all across the world</a>

Sjoerd den Daas tried to resume his broadcast but was yanked away in what appears to be one of China's latest intimidation tactics aimed at international journalists. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-recognises-taiwan-as-part-of-china-opposes-islands-independence-450437">Also read |&nbsp;Russia recognises Taiwan as part of China, opposes island's independence</a>

In a Twitter post, Dutch broadcaster NOS wrote: "Our correspondent [den Daas] was pulled away from the camera by security guards at 12:00 pm live in the NOS Journaal. Unfortunately, this is increasingly becoming a daily reality for journalists in China. He is fine and was able to finish his story a few minutes later."

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Onze correspondent <a href="https://twitter.com/sjoerddendaas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sjoerddendaas</a> werd om 12.00u live in het NOS Journaal door beveiligers voor de camera weggetrokken. Helaas is dit steeds vaker de dagelijkse realiteit voor journalisten in China. Hij is in orde en kon zijn verhaal gelukkig een paar minuten later afmaken <a href="https://t.co/GLTZRlZV96">pic.twitter.com/GLTZRlZV96</a>
— NOS (@NOS) <a href="https://twitter.com/NOS/status/1489578149507698689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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According to the Daily Beast, the journalist's report was not photogenic enough because Mr. den Daas was shooting on a poorly lit street rather than the fashionable Bird's Nest stadium.

According to The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China's (FCCC) recent Media Freedoms report from last month, foreign journalists are "facing unprecedented hurdles" as a result of the "government's efforts to prevent and discredit independent reporting."&nbsp;

(With inputs from&nbsp;agencies)

The Beijing Winter Olympics are officially underway, but Chinese authorities have demonstrated to the rest of the world that they will not permit any form of free press even during the games.

The Beijing Winter Olympics are officially underway, but Chinese authorities have demonstrated to the rest of the world that they will not permit any form of free press even during the games. In an incredible clip from the Dutch broadcaster, one of the reporters covering the Games in Beijing is shown being manhandled by a security guard wearing a red armband. Sjoerd den Daas, the reporter, attempted to continue his show while being held and screamed at by the guard, but NOS cut away to the studio. Also read | Beijing's 'Genocide Games' kick off amid backlash from all across the world Sjoerd den Daas tried to resume his broadcast but was yanked away in what appears to be one of China's latest intimidation tactics aimed at international journalists. Also read | Russia recognises Taiwan as part of China, opposes island's independence In a Twitter post, Dutch broadcaster NOS wrote: "Our correspondent [den Daas] was pulled away from the camera by security guards at 12:00 pm live in the NOS Journaal. Unfortunately, this is increasingly becoming a daily reality for journalists in China. He is fine and was able to finish his story a few minutes later." Onze correspondent @sjoerddendaas werd om 12.00u live in het NOS Journaal door beveiligers voor de camera weggetrokken. Helaas is dit steeds vaker de dagelijkse realiteit voor journalisten in China. Hij is in orde en kon zijn verhaal gelukkig een paar minuten later afmaken pic.twitter.com/GLTZRlZV96 — NOS (@NOS) February 4, 2022 × According to the Daily Beast, the journalist's report was not photogenic enough because Mr. den Daas was shooting on a poorly lit street rather than the fashionable Bird's Nest stadium. According to The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China's (FCCC) recent Media Freedoms report from last month, foreign journalists are "facing unprecedented hurdles" as a result of the "government's efforts to prevent and discredit independent reporting." (With inputs from agencies)

Watch: Chinese communist workers drag journalist away on live TV at Beijing Winter Olympics

A cross country skier born in Xinjiang was one of two final torchbearers who ended the Olympic opening ceremony by sending a flame into the sky on a giant snowflake.

Dinigeer Yilamujiang, from Altay, Xinjiang, and Zhao Jiawen, a 21-year-old biathlete, delivered the flame.

Yilamujiang, 21, is the first Chinese cross-country skiing medallist at any FIS-level event and is a medal hopeful in a sport in which China has not traditionally excelled.

The selection of Yilamujiang as a final torchbearer came as many western nations diplomatically boycotted the Winter Games over China`s treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. China denies human rights abuses.

A cross country skier born in Xinjiang was one of two final torchbearers who ended the Olympic opening ceremony by sending a flame into the sky on a giant snowflake.

A cross country skier born in Xinjiang was one of two final torchbearers who ended the Olympic opening ceremony by sending a flame into the sky on a giant snowflake. Dinigeer Yilamujiang, from Altay, Xinjiang, and Zhao Jiawen, a 21-year-old biathlete, delivered the flame. Yilamujiang, 21, is the first Chinese cross-country skiing medallist at any FIS-level event and is a medal hopeful in a sport in which China has not traditionally excelled. The selection of Yilamujiang as a final torchbearer came as many western nations diplomatically boycotted the Winter Games over China`s treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. China denies human rights abuses.

Uyghur athlete final torchbearer at Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 opening ceremony

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