Uyghur athlete delivers Olympic flame in opening ceremony after global criticism of China

[demmiblue]

One of the final torchbearers was a member of the Uyghur ethnic minority, whose treatment by the Chinese government is at the center of a U.S.-led diplomatic boycott of the Games.

China kicked off the 2022 Winter Olympics on Friday with a pared-back but visually stunning opening ceremony and a defiant message to the world leaders boycotting it.

After a brisk, snowflake-themed show that emphasized youth and “ordinary people,” the Games were declared officially open by Chinese President Xi Jinping, prompting a burst of fireworks over the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium in central Beijing.

The final step was to deliver the ceremonial flame, a moment that often carries symbolic weight based in part on who is selected for the task.

Chinese officials chose two athletes, one of whom was Dinigeer Yilamujiang, a Uyghur cross-country skiier from the western Chinese region of Xinjiang.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/winter-olympics-opening-ceremony-beijing-china-rcna14511

Good lawd, that is something.

[dalton99a]

1. Xi: "There is my Uyghur Muslim!"

"There are no concentration camps in China"

[Solly Mack]

2. This.

Eaxctly this.

[ChazII]

5. +1

Not watching the Olympics this year.

[sarisataka]

3. Well if the 1936 Olympic flame

Was delivered by a Jewish athlete we would have known there was no oppression in Germany

[cbabe]

4. India diplomats boycott opening ceremonies due to

Chinese military officer from deadly India/China Himalayan conflict as torch bearer.