Beijing Olympics open in 4 months; human rights talk absent

By STEPHEN WADE
AP Sports Writer

The Beijing Winter Olympics open in four months — just six months after the Summer Games wrapped up in Tokyo. When the IOC awarded the 2008 Summer Games to Beijing it promised the event could improve human rights and civil liberties in China. There is no such lofty talk this time as Beijing becomes the first city to hold both the Summer and Winter Olympics. Instead, there are some calls for governments to boycott. IOC President Thomas Bach has repeatedly dodged questions about the propriety of holding the Games in China despite evidence of alleged genocide, vast surveillance, and crimes against humanity involving at least 1 million Uyghurs and other largely Muslim minorities.