Sri Lanka - How China Is Going to Take Advantage of Winter Olympics

(MENAFN- Colombo Gazette)

The competitors will have to cope with more than simply competing in their chosen Sport as the world prepares for the Winter olympics in Beijing from 4 to 20 February. To secure the safety of all parties engaged, regulate the spread of COVID-19, and serve China's Political goals, the Chinese government will conduct comprehensive monitoring. It is the latter reason that should concern us the most.

Why would professional athletes pose a danger to China?

What possible interest does China's strong dictatorship have in the personal lives, deeds, and views of the world's athletes?

After all, these athletes haven't spent their entire life sacrificing themselves and putting in grueling training only to spy on China. They won't have access to any Chinese government buildings, key personnel, or classified information.

Why would China spy on them, then?

The answer is to safeguard China's image. The Chinese Communist Party, CCP, has a concern about saving face, and it is this worry that keeps China's tyranny alive!

Chinese officials have created the world's most advanced and extensive censoring capabilities in order to protect the CCP's image, thereby making China the first digital authoritarian government.

China controls all information released to or by its population and has a history of coercing or retaliating against foreign governments, businesses, or public figures that criticize China or its authorities.

Athletes are no exceptions.

First and foremost, the athletes must know that the information they submit on their visa applications has been utilised to build files and open-source collecting activities based on it.

This research classifies and categorizes athletes into at least two groups.

First, those who have expressed public opinions that the CCP considers dangerous, such as those concerning democracy, freedom, human rights, Uyghurs, Tibet, minorities, Hong Kong, women's rights, homosexuality, or transgender problems.

Second, those who have publicly shown their support for China (what the CCP refers to as“friends of China”).

The first group can harm China's image by making public remarks during the Winter Olympics, whilst the second group can be used to promote China.

Athletes may anticipate their mobile signals to be detected upon arrival in Beijing, regardless of category.

Everything from the information to the actual substance of messages will be recorded by cell phone towers. The intercepted data will be forwarded to China's Ministry of Public Security.

Several national security laws mandate that businesses submit all conversations and related data to the state's intelligence and security agencies upon request.

There have also been allegations from China of criminal groups employing phoney cellular towers to obtain personal information on people and exploiting that information for a range of fraud schemes.

In order to record health and travel data while in China, Beijing has asked all athletes to download the MY2022 smartphone app. The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto found severe encryption and security issues in the app, as well as a censorship list of 2,442“illegal terms” (which is presently dormant).

Authorities can access phones because of security weaknesses that were designed into the system. Intelligence agencies are accustomed to employing such deceptive tactics.

Athletes will be greeted by many physical and information security precautions as they arrive at the Olympic Village. The substantial security measures will be clearly promoted as essential to safeguard the athletes. China does not want to jeopardize the athletes' health because it would shame China's leaders in front of the world.

As a result, athletes' access to locations and people will be restricted. This is common procedure for large-scale events in China.

Beijing has vowed to offer Olympic athletes with internet connection at official venues and hotels, allowing them to breach China's Great Firewall and view websites that are blocked in the country (everything from Facebook and Twitter to Gmail and YouTube, as also many foreign news sites). That access will undoubtedly be tracked.

Companies like Huawei Technologies Co. and Iflytek Co., which provide communications and network support, collaborate closely with China's Ministry of Public Security. Both are banned from exporting to the United States, and Huawei has been charged with commercial espionage in both civil and criminal courts in the United States. Foreign governments have prohibited a number of different onsite IT service companies for data theft.

All laptop communications will be monitored and provided, in near real time, to China's security services. Chinese law requires the use of government-approved VPN (Virtual Private Network) providers for internet collaborations with U.S. universities and businesses.

Personal behavior will also be watched and catalogued by the Chinese government. Cell phone tracking, onsite video surveillance systems, and facial recognition technology will be used to track the movement of each athlete.

China has the most sophisticated facial recognition and associated artificial intelligence in the world.

Going beyond this, China will closely monitor the personal behavior of athletes, to include their conversations.

For decades, China's Ministries of State and Public Security have maintained electronic listening devices in hotels frequented by foreigners. It is likely that those security services will do the same at the Olympic Village if deemed necessary. That information may be immediately used or just held for future opportunities. (Courtesy Poreg.org)

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