OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A Dutch reporter was pulled away by Chinese authorities while he was on-camera as he was reporting live on Friday from the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing while a shocked anchorwoman looked on in disbelief.
The Daily Wire reported that, according to a translator, the anchorwoman said, “We are going to China, to our correspondent Sjoerd. Sjoerd, you are near the stadium, what is China gonna show in the next hours?”
The translator noted that Sjoerd den Daas, a correspondent for NOS Journaal, began responding, “Yeah, well, we are getting pulled away, as you might notice, we have also been forced to leave another area, so I fear we’ll have to get —”
"We are going to China, to our correspondent Sjoerd. Sjoerd, you are near the stadium, what is China gonna show in the next hours?
Yeah, well, we are getting pulled away, as you might notice, we have also been forced to leave another area, so i fear we'll have to get –— leflavius_nl (@LeFlavius_NL) February 4, 2022
A report from Insider framed it as: “A TV journalist was manhandled off-camera by a guard while reporting live outside the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony.”
“The interruption came from a man wearing a black jacket and a red band around the sleeve which appears to distinguish him a ‘Public Security Volunteer,’ a citizen-led neighborhood watch established to help police maintain order,” The Daily Mail reported.
The outlet went on to explain:
It is unclear what Mr den Daas was doing a prompt intervention, but NOS later tweeted that he was able to continue the report minutes later.
However, observers suspect that the media handlers stepped in because den Haas was filming in an unphotogenic location, on a badly lit street rather than the glamorous Bird’s Nest stadium.
On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) essentially ordered U.S. athletes not to “speak out” against China’s well-known human rights abuses while attending and competing in the games because it could anger the Communist regime.
“I would say to our athletes — you are there to compete,” Pelosi noted, in part, during testimony before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. “Do not risk incurring the anger of the Chinese government because they are ruthless. I know there is a temptation on the part of some to speak out while they are there, I respect that. But, I also worry about what the Chinese government might do to their reputations, to their families.”
Additionally, Bloomberg News reported:
The commission’s hearing on the eve of opening ceremonies for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing was organized as a platform for Pelosi and several activists to highlight China’s human rights record, including reports of forced labor and acts of genocide against the Uyghur ethnic community in the Xinjiang region as well as suppression of democratic protests in Hong Kong and religious repression of Tibet’s Buddhists.
Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) wrote a letter to Olympics corporate sponsors in December after President Joe Biden announced the U.S. would diplomatically boycott the Beijing Games.
She directed her letter to Coca-Cola, Airbnb, Bridgestone, Intel, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Samsung, Visa, Comcast, Delta Air Lines, Salesforce, Deloitte, Nike, Jetset Sports, Oakley, Ralph Lauren, and Toyota and urged them to acknowledge China’s atrocities:
As the 2022 Winter Olympic Games approach, it is critical that you take a stand for those being persecuted and marginalized in China. Your global companies are investing over $3 billion in the Beijing and Paris Olympics on advertisement and sponsorship.
I write today to strongly urge you to use your public platforms and multimillion-dollar advertising budget, with a combined reach of billions of people, to raise awareness on the atrocities being performed by the Chinese government to end its abuses and to pressure China to end its human rights violations.
Also in December, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ripped Biden’s decision to just boycott the Games diplomatically.
“Biden’s diplomatic boycott of the #Olympics does not go far enough. The CCP should not be rewarded for committing genocide & ignoring basic human rights. Furthermore, it’s in the best interests of the health & safety of our athletes to fully #BoycottBeijingOlympics,” he tweeted.
Biden’s diplomatic boycott of the #Olympics does not go far enough. The CCP should not be rewarded for committing genocide & ignoring basic human rights. Furthermore, it’s in the best interests of the health & safety of our athletes to fully #BoycottBeijingOlympics.
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) December 15, 2021
