George Washington University reversed course on investigating the origin of Olympic-themed posters on campus criticizing China, throwing its support behind the artwork after the president initially said he found them “offensive.”
GWU President Mark S. Wrighton issued a statement Monday saying that he responded “hastily” to complaints about the posters by the Australia-based Chinese dissident artist Badiucao aimed at Beijing’s human-rights abuses.
“I have since learned from our university’s scholars that the posters were designed by a Chinese-Australian artist, Badiucao, and they are a critique of China’s policies,” Mr. Wrighton said.
“Upon full understanding, I do not view these posters as racist; they are political statements. There is no university investigation underway, and the university will not take any action against the students who displayed the posters,” he said.
Badiucao posted Sunday an email identified as being from Mr. Wrighton in which he said he was “personally offended” by the posters and said he would order them removed, as well as “undertake an effort to determine who is responsible.”
The email prompted an outcry from critics of the communist regime, including Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican.
In his Monday response, Mr. Wrighton said the posters “alarmed some members of our community, and we began to receive a number of concerns through official university reporting channels that cited bias and racism against the Chinese community.”
He said he also received an email from a student who “expressed concerns.”
“At that time, and without more context on the origin or intent of the posters, I responded hastily to the student, writing that I, too, was concerned,” Mr. Wrighton said.
“University staff also responded to ensure the posters were removed. These responses were mistakes. Every member of the GW community should feel welcome and supported, but I should have taken more time to understand the entire situation before commenting,” he said.
The university received complaints about the posters from the GWU Chinese Students and Scholars Association and the Chinese Cultural Association, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which praised Mr. Wrighton’s about-face.
“This is the correct outcome, and FIRE is pleased to see Wrighton reach it,” the group said in a statement. “However, it remains troubling that his first instinct was to censor the posters — which Wrighton admits have already been taken down by university staff — rather than abide by his university’s free speech commitments.”
The five pieces in Badiucao’s “Beijing 2022 Collection” makes anti-China statements using depictions of Olympic athletes, such as a biathlete pointing her rifle at a kneeling, blindfolded captive.
The artwork represents “the Chinese government’s oppression of the Tibetan people, the Uyghur genocide, the dismantling of democracy in Hong Kong, the regime’s omnipresent surveillance systems, and lack of transparency surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic,” said the Beijing2022.art website.
Badiucao said on his Twitter account the artwork has been displayed at protests and other events in Miami, the Czech Republic and Italy.
Mr. Wrighton added that “I want to be very clear: I support freedom of speech — even when it offends people — and creative art is a valued way to communicate on important societal issues.”
The Beijing Winter Olympics launched Friday in the face of a U.S. diplomatic boycott and protests against the Chinese Communist Party. The games end Feb. 20.
Many American universities are enthusiastic agents for #China’s censorship efforts in America
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 7, 2022
For example GW University just ordered posters criticizing China’s human rights record removed & the schools President said he was ‘personally offended’ by them https://t.co/TGlDA1GlSG
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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