Richard Pound, a member of the International Olympic Committee, told Time that athletes participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing would be free to express their opinions, so long as they observe the laws of their host nation, China.
Pound said, due to the IOC’s securing of agreements with China, the athletes would be protected during the games, and that he is not worried about Beijing going back on its word "because that would be an international black eye on any host country."
"It’s not a situation where you have complete license to do whatever you want," Pound added. "So, you know, be careful what you do, because you could be exposed." Pound went on to qualify that, in the past, host nations have "by and large" protected athletes' freedoms.
However, despite athletes being able to express "opinions" on Friday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said, according to AFP, that democracy is a weapon of mass destruction.
"Democracy," they said, has become a "'weapon of mass destruction' used by the US to interfere in other countries," the foreign ministry spokesperson said.
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