Media workshop: Beijing 2022 – Necessary insights to cover the Olympic Winter Games

The Winter Games will begin soon on February 4, and much of the world’s media attention will be focused on China and the games. For the Chinese Communist Party, the Olympics provide a much-wanted stage to enhance their public image domestically and abroad. Set during a global pandemic, facing diplomatic boycotts and international backlash over China’s human rights record, the Winter Games appear to be off to a rough start. This creates some challenges for members of the press covering the games in Beijing or from newsrooms in Europe.

MERICS holds a media workshop to discuss these issues on Friday, January 21, at 9:00 a.m. CET . 

Aimed at members of the press covering Beijing 2022, this workshop will provide the background and insights into China necessary to report on the upcoming games. Reporters travelling to China will be subjected to strict regulations of China’s zero-covid strategy, while also facing an increasingly hostile environment for foreign journalists on the ground. And while primarily a sports event, covering the Olympics will require a broader understanding of the situation in China. Our experts will also touch upon the following questions:  

• What are the current central issues in Chinese domestic politics and why are the Winter Olympics of importance for the Communist Party? 
• How does China’s propaganda work domestically and abroad? How is the human rights situation? 
• What does the diplomatic boycott by countries like the US, Canada and Australia mean for the Olympics?

Speakers:

Katja Drinhausen, Head of Politics and Society Program, MERICS

Bernhard Bartsch, Director External Relations, MERICS

Valarie Tan, Analyst, MERICS

Moderator:

Claudia Wessling, Director Communication and Publications, MERICS