Munich, Moscow, now Beijing - to boycott or not

Of course, given that the CCP is so much more powerful than South Africa ever was, extracting whatever resources it wants from China's gigantic economy in a way that many Western governments rarely do outside war situations, there is a possibility that the West may not been able to influence many of the poorer countries who are currently benefitting from greater economic interaction with China.

Hence, a sporting boycott may be limited to Western societies.

Western Corporations too, if they put ethics before profits, can also take a stand by not sponsoring the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

It is noted that companies participating in the elite Olympic Partner Programme, including Airbnb, Coca-Cola, General Electric, and Visa, collectively fork over at least $1 billion for exclusive marketing rights allowing them to include those five coloured rings in commercials.

At the sporting federation level, while the International Olympic Committee is a power of its own which is eager to hold on to its influence within global sport, they have the capacity to take the lead against rogue players.

At present, the Australian Olympic Committee rejects the possibility of a boycott, predictably saying that "neutrality on global political issues" was a critical feature of the Olympic movement..

This is in line with the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee whose chair Susanne Lyons also stated "We at the USOPC oppose athlete boycotts because they've been shown to negatively impact athletes while not effectively addressing global issues in the past", and that such matters should be left to diplomats and other government officials who are better equipped to address such concerns rather than using young athletes "as political pawns in these issues".

However, one can note how the IOC and other sporting federations banned Russia from the Olympic Games and major sporting competitions because of its blatant systematic use of banned performance enhancing drugs.

Finally, individual sports people can take the lead, as they have with their various individual stances over the years in societies where the power of individuals can have a major effect, albeit not without personal risk.

One can note the 2016 example of Colin Kaepernick, then quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League, when he knelt during the national anthem at the start of NFL games in protest of police brutality and racial inequality in the US.

While Kaepernick reached a confidential settlement with the NFL in 2019 after filing a grievance in 2017 against the NFL and its owners alleging that they were keeping him out of the league, albeit he has never played since, his previous protests received renewed attention in 2020 during the George Floyd protests against police brutality and racism.

Of course, not all athletes may be willing to consider sacrificing their careers.