Olympic Athletes to Sign Contracts Banning Criticism of Chinese Regime

The Daily Mail has reported that British athletes who want to compete in the Olympics will have to keep any negative opinions they have about the Chinese government to themselves:

British Olympic chiefs are to force athletes to sign a contract promising not to speak out about China’s appalling human rights record – or face being banned from travelling to Beijing.

The move – which raises the spectre of the order given to the England football team to give a Nazi salute in Berlin in 1938 – immediately provoked a storm of protest.

The controversial clause has been inserted into athletes’ contracts for the first time and forbids them from making any political comment about countries staging the Olympic Games.

The article goes on to mention that Belgium and New Zealand have similar rules banning athletes from sharing their political opinions, but several countries including the United States, Canada, Finland, and Australia – “have pledged that their athletes would be free to speak about any issue concerning China.”