Three US senators have signed a letter stating that American athletes in Beijing Winter Olympics, 2022 shouldn’t use Digital Yuan.
Digital Yuan will supposedly play a major role during the event. Chinese officials have said that the digital yuan may be rolled out for wider use during the Winter Olympics, building on months of tests that have grown in scope across an array of cities in the country.
In a letter to U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee board chair Susanne Lyons. The senators urged officials to prevent U.S. athletes from using or accepting digital yuan. Their allegation is that it can be “tracked and traced” by the People’s Bank of China, or PBoC.
Addressed to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, the letter opens:
“We write to express our concerns with the communist Chinese government’s plans to officially launch the Digital Currency Electronic Payment, commonly referred to as the digital yuan, prior to the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. Specifically, we urge the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) to forbid American athletes from receiving or using digital yuan during the Beijing Olympics.”
“The digital yuan is the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) central bank digital currency. The digital yuan is entirely controlled by the PBOC, and can be tracked and traced by the central bank. The digital yuan has been in the works since 2014, but only recently has the Chinese government released key features regarding the digital currency, including the ability of the government to know the exact details of what someone purchased and where,” the senators went on to write.
Olympic athletes should be aware that the digital yuan has the ability to surveil Chinese citizens. As well as on those visiting China on an unprecedented scale. With the hopes that they will maintain digital yuan wallets on their smartphones and continue to use them upon return.
The Senators, all members of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, requested a briefing on their request within 30 days.
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