Half of Americans Oppose Beijing Olympics

Axios Poll... Must Stand Against Chinese Human Rights Abuses

(Photo by Reuters)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] A survey revealed that nearly half of Americans oppose the Beijing Winter Olympics scheduled for February next year due to human rights abuses in China's Xinjiang region.

According to a survey conducted by Axios in the US in collaboration with Momentive from the 2nd to the 4th, targeting 2,875 American adults, 49% of respondents answered "yes" to the question of whether the Beijing Olympics should be banned because of China's human rights record.

Only 14% responded that they "oppose" banning the Olympics, while 33% said they "don't know."

Support for banning the hosting was highest among Republican supporters at 61%, followed by Democratic supporters at 50%, and independents at 36%.

By age group, 59% of those aged 65 and older, 51% of those aged 35 to 64, and 40% of those aged 18 to 34 believed that China should be banned from hosting the Olympics, showing that older respondents were more likely to support the ban.

Axios interpreted this as "indicating that, in addition to facing public health challenges due to the spread of COVID-19, the Beijing Olympics will cause political division among Americans."