Fireworks of red and gold faded to give way to 2,008 performers beating the fou – an ancient percussion instrument – while chanting excerpts from Confucius’ Analects.

It was the night of August 8, 2008, the opening ceremony for China’s first Olympic Games. Beijing was not only eager to flaunt China’s rich history and culture but also its brand new stadiums, its ability to run an international event smoothly and its talented athletes who went on to win more gold medals than any other nation.

Hosting the Winter Olympics during a pandemic was always going to test the Chinese government, by putting its ever-growing ability to exercise political control and virus containment on a collision course with its enthusiasm for international prestige and status.

U.S. athletes and attendees at the Beijing Winter Games will likely be forced to use technology linked to Chinese Communist Party repression thanks to selections by China and the International Olympic Committee.

The 2022 Games have been dubbed the "Genocide Olympics" by leaders and activists who believe the competition should not be held in a country responsible for a host of human rights abuses. The United States concluded that the CCP is conducting a genocide against Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang in western China.