by Misbah Saba Malik

The Beijing Winter Olympic Games is a ray of hope for humanity among the COVID-19 pandemic, signifying a return to normalcy with precautions, an expert has said.

The Olympic Games truly create awareness about ways to fight the pandemic and diseases not by politicizing events but by gathering the world for a greater cause, Farhat Asif, president of the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies, an Islamabad-based think-tank, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

China's tales of fighting against COVID-19 are heroic and the lessons and experience it gained have enabled it to plan the Olympics using precautions based on science, said Asif, adding that international health bodies like the World Health Organization praised China for its preparations.

"Such efforts will help set a standard for other countries to follow in the years to come, especially in organizing such huge sports events that require intelligent and smart policing and implementation," Asif said.

Regarding modern technology in the Winter Olympics, Asif said that China has set the bar high for future Olympic organizers by applying the latest technology to this year's games.

China has put hydrogen vehicles into use for the games and developed solar and wind parks to supply carbon-free energy to the events, Asif said, adding that China is using 5G technology for efficient connectivity for ultra HD streaming and smart services.

China is all set to host green Olympics and will be willing to help push the idea of green Olympics in the future, the expert added.

The green Olympics is one ring in the large chain of China's carbon neutrality targets, Asif said, adding that China's move will encourage other nations to promote green and safe technologies.

In terms of China's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, the expert said there is a deep relationship between the vision and the Olympic spirit.

"The Olympics reflects tolerance, acceptability, peace, and harmony towards athletes in the sports arena ... A community with a shared future has the same ideals of peace, tolerance, harmony, mutual understanding, coexistence, cooperation, and non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other states," Asif said.