Freedom of speech
China's He Binghan competes during the men's halfpipe qualification at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Beijing Olympics get political with Taiwan, Uyghur questions

By Stephen Wade And Graham Dunbar Feb. 17, 2022 02:18 AM EST

FILE - A woman holds up a ligt candle and a phone showing the image of the 1989 tank man protester during a candle vigil to mark the anniversary of the military crackdown on a pro-democracy student movement in Beijing, outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong, Friday, June 4, 2021. As Beijing prepares to hold the Winter Olympics opening in February 2022, China's president and party leader Xi Jinping appears firmly in control. The party has made political stability paramount and says that has been the foundation for the economic growth that has bettered lives and put the nation on a path to becoming a regional if not global power. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
From Tiananmen to Hong Kong, China's crackdowns defy critics

By Ken Moritsugu Jan. 27, 2022 12:20 AM EST

A woman wearing a face mask to help protect from the coronavirus takes a selfie with her companion against a Beijing Winter Olympics Mascot and Olympic Tower in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. China has locked down parts of Beijing's Haidian district following the detection of three cases, just weeks before the capital is to host the Winter Olympic Games. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Beijing residents disappointed Olympics will be closed event

Jan. 19, 2022 04:12 AM EST

A person speaks while gathering with others in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022 for a protest ralley against the Olympic games in Bejing 2022. A coalition of human rights organizations is calling on German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to diplomatically boycott the Winter Olympics in and around Beijing. The World Uyghur Congress (WUC), the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV), the Tibet Initiative Germany (TID), the Ilham Tohti Initiative and the Association of Hongkongers in Germany e.V. cordially invited for a protest march from the Brandenburg Gate to the Foreign Office. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
Olympic athletes urged by activists not to criticize China

By Graham Dunbar Jan. 18, 2022 11:56 AM EST

Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai reacts during a tennis match in Beijing, China on Oct. 6, 2009. When Peng disappeared from public view this month after accusing a senior Chinese politician of sexual assault, it caused an international uproar. But back in China, Peng is just one of several people, activists and accusers alike, who have been hustled out of view, charged with crimes or trolled and silenced online for speaking out about the harassment, violence and discrimination women face every day. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
WTA remains "concerned' about Peng's ability to speak freely

By Stephen Wade Nov. 27, 2021 10:37 PM EST

Megan Rapinoe, second right, and her teammates warm up at a training session of United States women's soccer team at Prince Takamado Memorial JFA YUME Field Saturday, July 17, 2021, in Chiba, near Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Long-banned athlete protest acts expected at Tokyo Olympics

By Graham Dunbar Jul. 20, 2021 11:02 AM EDT

Doctor Sachihiro Ochi holds his work during an interview with the Associated Press in Yokohama near Tokyo, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Ochi, artist who joined the anti-Olympic exhibition, also social worker and doctor in a clinic near Yokohama Stadium, which will host Olympic baseball and softball games. He says Yokohama and Tokyo, have hardened their policies on the homeless because of the Olympics. Public spaces that were once open are now covered with colored cones and obstacles to keep away the homeless, he said. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
'Suffocated': Art becomes form of protest against Olympics

By Kantaro Komiya And Chisato Tanaka Jun. 17, 2021 02:06 AM EDT

A countdown clock showing one year to go for the 2022 Beijing Olympics stands near the Olympics Tower, far center, and National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, which will again be a venue for the Olympics, in Beijing on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will open a year from now. Most of the venues have been completed as the Chinese capital becomes the first city to hold both the Winter and Summer Olympics. Beijing held the 2008 Summer Olympics. But these Olympics are presenting some major problems. They are already scarred by accusations of rights abuses including "genocide"against more than 1 million Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic groups in western China. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Human rights, COVID at issue 1 year before Beijing Olympics

By Stephen Wade Feb. 04, 2021 01:20 AM EST

FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008 file photo, United States' relay swimmer Klete Keller reacts after a men's 4x200-meter freestyle relay heat during the swimming competitions in the National Aquatics Center at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Five-time Olympic swimming medalist Klete Keller was charged Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021 with participating in a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol after video emerged that appeared to show him among those storming the building last week. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, File)
Olympian Keller charged with taking part in US Capitol riot

By Paul Newberry Jan. 13, 2021 05:18 PM EST

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2018, file photo, a statue in honor of former Olympians Tommie Smith, left, and John Carlos is seen on the campus of San Jose State University in San Jose, Calif. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee heeded calls from American athletes, announcing Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, that it won’t sanction them for raising their fists or kneeling on the medals stand at next year’s Tokyo Games and beyond. It was Rule 50, which prohibits inside-the-lines protests at the games, that most famously led to the ouster of Smith and Carlos from the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City after the sprinters raised their fists on the medals stand to protest racial inequality in the United States. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)
Olympics on tight timeline to chart new path on protest

By Eddie Pells Dec. 11, 2020 01:42 AM EST

Protesters take a knee during a demonstration calling for justice for the death of George Floyd and all victims of police brutality, in Montreal, Sunday, June 7, 2020. Floyd died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Commonwealth Games open to athletes taking a knee

Jun. 12, 2020 11:12 AM EDT

The cover design of Number 1 Shimbun is seen in Tokyo, Tuesday, May 19, 2020. Tokyo Olympics officials are incensed that their games emblem has been used in the cover design of the local magazine that combines the logo with the novel coronavirus. The “look-alike”emblem, which had “COVID-19” written underneath, was published on the cover the the April issue of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan's magazine. It also appeared in an online edition. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Drawing that parodies Tokyo Olympic logo pulled from website

By Stephen Wade May. 21, 2020 12:37 AM EDT