Yegeman: “There are other areas for criticism”

The United States accuses China of perpetrating cultural genocide against the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang, thus carrying out a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in China. Other countries that apply bpojkot diplomacy are Canada, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Lithuania, Japan and Australia. Swedish politicians stay home referring to the pandemic, as well as the political situation in China, and one doesn’t want – using sports jargon – to show either a red or a yellow card to China.

– We have diplomatic arenas in the European Union, in the United Nations, in our meetings with countries. Anders Wegmann says, if we had gone to China, of course we would have brought cash.

A new path to the Olympic future

In November last year, the SVT reported leaked documents showing that Chinese President Xi Jinping personally ordered mass arrests, forced labor and forced sterilization of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang. In such a world, the sports movement and politics also need to chart a path towards the future, when new sports leagues will be distributed.

First, we must have a realistic view: Only 14 percent of the world’s countries are full democracies. So I think excluding those who are completely undemocratic is a difficult path.

Are there any opportunities for politicians to work more aggressively with the sports movement?

I am happy to work alongside the sport to determine the demands on these top international players, Anders Ygeman tells SVT Sport.

Watch, among others, Ygeman at Sports Spegeln Special on Thursdays at 19.00 at SVT2.