EIJING, Oct 25, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Beijing marks 100 days until the Winter
Olympics on Wednesday but preparations for the Games have been overshadowed
by boycott calls and a fresh coronavirus outbreak in China.

     The Chinese capital in February will become the first host of a Summer
and Winter Games and last week welcomed the Olympic flame with a low-key
ceremony as the main event swings into view.

     There was no sign of dissent in strictly controlled China, but the
flame-lighting ceremony in Greece was disrupted by a small number of
activists who brandished a Tibetan flag and a banner saying "no genocide".

     Organisers have given no details about how they plan to mark the 100
days and any festivities look set to be small, with Chinese authorities
rushing to stamp out a virus outbreak in their pursuit of a zero-cases
policy.

     This weekend's Beijing Marathon has been postponed and China on Monday
reported 39 new domestic infections, while urging people to avoid unnecessary
travel outside the capital.

     China, where the coronavirus emerged towards the end of 2019, has
wrestled infections down with mass testing, aggressive lockdowns and by
largely sealing its borders.

     The 2022 Games, which take place just six months after the pandemic-
delayed Tokyo Summer Olympics, will be held in a strict "closed loop" bubble
to thwart infections.

     The estimated 2,900 athletes must be fully vaccinated or face 21 days'
quarantine upon arrival in the Chinese capital.

     Unlike the Tokyo Games, there will be spectators, but ticket sales are
limited to people living in China.

    - 'Wrong choice' -

     Days after activists targeted the flame-lighting ceremony in Greece, NBA
player Enes Kanter branded President Xi Jinping a "brutal dictator" and
condemned China's policies in Tibet, underlining how sports stars
increasingly use their clout to speak out on sensitive issues.

     China's communist rulers have consistently railed against what they call
the "politicisation" of sport, and the International Olympic Committee says
that it is not within its remit "to go into a country and tell them what to
do".

     But the International Campaign for Tibet said that China's response to
Kanter's intervention -- with games played by his Boston Celtics team yanked
from live-streaming broadcasts -- was more proof that "the country is the
wrong choice" to host the Olympics.

     The Washington-headquartered group called for world leaders to stage a
diplomatic boycott -- in line with demands by other activists -- but stopped
short of demanding fully blacklisting the nation.

     China's clampdown in the former British colony of Hong Kong and its
treatment of mostly Muslim Uyghurs in the region of Xinjiang are also under
scrutiny.

     Rights groups say more than one million Uyghurs and other minorities in
Xinjiang have been held in camps in recent years -- with Washington
describing their treatment as "genocide".

     After initially denying the existence of the Xinjiang camps, China
defended them as vocational training centres aimed at reducing Islamic
extremism.

     - 'Vibrant sports culture' -

     If the 2008 Beijing Games were seen as China's coming-out party, the
2022 Olympics are part of a drive by authorities to get 300 million people --
about a quarter of the country's population -- into winter sports.

     "Through the unique formats and methods with Chinese characteristics, we
hope that people all over the world can experience China's vibrant sports
culture and appreciate the enthusiasm of every Chinese person to participate
in and support the Olympic Games," Wang Xiangyu, a senior 2022 official, said
last week.

     The Games -- running February 4-20 -- will make use of some of 2008's
venues, including the "Bird's Nest" national stadium for the opening and
closing ceremonies.