Shadow games

Several competing nations are asking their athletes to remain silent about China's human-rights record during the Olympic Games | Mark Bergin

Andy Wong/AP

With Beijing set to host this summer's Olympic Games, several competing nations seem bent on adding an unsavory piece of equipment to their athletes' uniforms—muzzles. The national Olympic committees for Britain, Belgium, and New Zealand are among those mandating that their athletes adhere to a strict policy of silence on China's abysmal human-rights record.

British competitors must sign a document pledging "not to comment on any politically sensitive issues" under threat of expulsion from the team, a rule requiring self-policing of blogs and even personal emails. Athletes from all nations are subject to Section 51 of the International Olympic Committee Charter, which "provides for no kind of demonstration, or political, religious or racial propaganda in the Olympic sites, venues or other areas."