Olympic athletes competing at this year's Olympic Games in Beijing have a lot working against them. Not only is China in the throes of the covid-19 pandemic (or CCP Virus as we like to call it) but governments are warning their athletes that their devices might be hacked. The Chinese Communist Party is constantly covid testing the athletes. And what happens to those DNA samples used for the tests is anyone's best guess. Watch this episode of China Uncensored for why it's a concern that the CCP might harvest athletes' DNA without their permission, how effective the Olympic "bubble" has been at keeping out the virus, and the censorship app that all athletes are required to download.
Cotton warns of China collecting athletes' DNA at 2022 Olympics
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Tuesday urged the Biden administration to ensure protections for U.S. athletes competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics, warning about China potentially trying to collect athletes' DNA, among other concerns.
The senator detailed his concerns in a letter to President Biden that requested more information on how the U.S. will prepare for next year's games in Beijing, saying the 2022 Olympics will pose “unique challenges for the safety, security, and privacy of Americans who attend.”
Cotton, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote that China "considers DNA collection a vital intelligence-gathering objective," warning that officials should be aware of potential Chinese government efforts to obtain samples from athletes.
“In 2022, thousands of world-class athletes will gather to compete in China. Their DNA will present an irresistible target for the [Chinese Communist Party],” Cotton wrote. “Thus, we should expect that the Chinese government will attempt to collect genetic samples of Olympians at the Games, perhaps disguised as testing for illegal drugs or COVID-19.”
Cotton, speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday, called for the U.S. to boycott the Beijing Olympics unless "the safety, security and privacy of our athletes" is guaranteed.
The GOP senator in his letter noted China's "invasive domestic surveillance system" and also warned of U.S. Olympic members who attend the Beijing games being "subject to arbitrary detention in China, particularly those who have spoken out" against China on a range of issues.
Cotton is an outspoken China hawk and was an early backer of the theory that the novel coronavirus emerged from a lab in Wuhan, China, as opposed to animal-to-human transmission, a position held by many scientists.
His letter follows similar calls from advocacy groups earlier this year urging global governments to boycott the Beijing Olympics over reported human rights violations.
The Hill has reached out to the State Department and the White House for comment on Cotton's letter.
30 Jul 2020 — Even children are pressed into giving blood samples to build a sweeping genetic database that will add to Beijing's growing surveillance ...
17 Jun 2021 — In the letter, Cotton warns Biden that Beijing plans on using the 2022 Winter Olympics as a giant funnel for precious American DNA, harvesting ...
14 Jan 2021 — A new study tries—and fails—to predict athletic greatness with a ... is going to be fast, the best genetic test right now is a stopwatch.
6 Sept 2018 — Chinese athletes aiming to represent their country at the 2022 Winter ... Last year, China's DNA-sequencing market was estimated to be worth ..
The Chinese government is turning to social media influencers to help improve its tarnished image ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games next month in Beijing.
Francis Agustin Business Insider
Beijing will host the Olympic Winter Games in February.Yi Haifei/China News Service via Getty Image
Chinese officials have hired a US-based media firm to help promote China and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Vippi Media signed a $300,000 deal to employ influencers to create content across TikTok, Instagram, and Twitch.
The contract comes amid complicated bilateral relations between the US and China over human rights issues.
The Chinese government is turning to social media influencers to help improve its tarnished image ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games next month in Beijing.
Vippi Media, a New Jersey-based firm, signed a $300,000 contract with the Chinese consulate general in New York to organize a social media campaign that promotes positive messaging about China and the Beijing Games on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitch.
The agreement, registered with the US Department of Justice, began in November and runs through March 2022, when the Winter Paralympics ends.
China continues to deny allegations of human rights abuses in its territories and people have expressed concern about the safety of US athletes competing in the games. Human rights organizations warned athletes they could face punishment for speaking out against the government while in China.
"There's really not much protection that we believe is going to be afforded to athletes," Rob Koehler, the director general of the Global Athlete group, said in a seminar on Tuesday. "We're advising athletes not to speak up. We want them to compete and use their voice when they get home."
China has spent more than a decade on media messaging efforts overseas, spending nearly $60 million in the US in 2020 and $23 million in 2021, according to Open Secrets, a DC-based organization that tracks money in American politics.
The Vippi Media agreement lays out a detailed social media strategy in which influencers will be tasked with producing three to five pieces of content for their target audiences. The influencers are divided into three tiers — "macro influencers," "mid-tier influencers," and "social publishers" — based on their number of followers and platform activity.
According to the contract, the Chinese government is requesting the posts be divided into 70% culture-related content — highlighting the history, cultural relics, modern life, and current trends in Beijing — 20% diplomatic content related to "cooperation and any good things in China-US relations." The remaining 10% of content will pertain to the news and trends from the consulate general.
Vipinder Jaswal, a former Fox News and HSBC executive who runs Vippi Media, told The Guardian he was well-aware of the controversies surrounding the Chinese government ahead of inking the deal.
"What we are trying to do is to simply highlight the integrity and dignity of the Olympics", he told The Guardian. "Boycotts don't help mutual understanding … I don't support boycotts. They are ineffective, irrelevant and inconsequential."
Jaswal told The Guardian his company has already received up to 50 pitches from influencers, including former Olympic athletes and entrepreneurs. As outlined in the contract, Jaswal plans to deliver a total of 3.4 million impressions across social media platforms frequented by younger demographics.
He also received a $210,000 advance after sealing the deal, according to the contract's documents.
In a response to request to comment from Insider, Jaswal reiterated and confirmed his statements made to The Guardian.
Still, the Vippi Media exec has faced criticism over the deal with the Chinese government. Earlier this month, Florida Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to Newsweek, where Jaswal serves as a contributor, asking the publication to reconsider its working relationship with Jaswal in light of China's human rights problems.
Newsweek has not publicly responded to the senator's letter. In a response to the letter, Jaswal called the senator's request an "attempt at seeking senseless sensation."
"I find his pretensions of endorsing righteousness quite breathtaking and the arrogance with which he projects his hypocrisies truly entertaining," Jaswal previously said in a statement.
An app that athletes, spectators and media attending the Beijing Olympic Games must download and use for daily Covid-19 monitoring has security flaws that could expose users’ personal information, cybersecurity researchers at the University of Toronto warnedTuesday.
2022 Beijing Winter Olympics logo at the Yanqing Ice Festival on February 26, 2021 in Beijing, ... [+]
GETTY IMAGES
KEY FACTS
The app My2022 has a “simple but devastating” flaw, which at times failed to encrypt user data, leaving personal information exposed, the report by Citizen Lab said.
Attendees of the Winter Games use the app to upload information such as passport details, travel plans and medical histories before they arrive in China, and have to continue using it during the event for daily Covid-19 monitoring.
The app could censor some 2,400 keywords related to politics, but the feature appeared to be inactive, the report said.
The app’s security issues most likely violate Google and Apple’s policies, the report said.
Google and Apple did not immediately respond to a Forbes request for comment.
The security flaws are “not particularly surprising” for apps running in China, as similar issues have been found in most of the popular Chinese Web browsers, the report said.
KEY BACKGROUND
This is not the first time concerns have been raised about cyber security at the Winter Games. Last week, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee advised athletes, coaches and staff to refrain from using their personal electronic devices during the event due to surveillance concerns. It recommended attendees use “burner” phones instead of their cell phones. Athletes in the Netherlands, U.K, Australia and Canada have received similar recommendations, USA Today reported.
TANGENT
Surveillance cameras have been installed outside people’s doors and sometimes even inside people’s homes, CNN reported. There are at least 567 million surveillance cameras installed across China, CNN said. That is six times the number of cameras in the United States.
