Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar and Associate Professor of Public Affairs at the LBJ School, was quoted in a recent AP article on the absence of human rights discussions ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The article notes that when Xi Jinping led the International Olympic Committee in 2008, the Committee promised that the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing could improve China’s human rights and civil liberties. However, with the 2022 Winter Olympics four months away, there are no such promises this year. According to the article, the Chinese government is using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to limit the number of reporters and visitors who can attend the Games. Professor Greitens indicates that these measures will have the added benefit of “avoiding a repeat of the last time the Olympics were held in Beijing, in 2008, when the torch relay was disrupted repeatedly by protestors and there were also protest attempts during the Games themselves.” Read the full article here