Olympic athletes are all but being threatened to keep their mouths shut while in China participating in the Winter Olympics. The Guardian reported the chair for the Beijing Winter Olympics Athletes’ Commission , Yang Yang, has warned participants that they “need to be responsible” if they speak out on any “controversial” topic.

Human rights groups have released dire warnings for months that consequences for talking about what is happening in Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang, for example, will have devastating consequences.

Yang Yang, who won two short-track gold medals at the 2002 Winter Games said under the IOC’s rule 50, athletes are free to talk in mixed zones and interviews. The rule covers “athlete expression.” Any actions of protest on the podiums are banned.

The Guardian states Yang Yang’s comments are too vague for any form of comfort:

“We have Rule 50 from the IOC charter,” said Yang, who is also vice-president of the World Anti-Doping Agency. “It says very clearly about the freedom of speech for athletes, what kind of expressions they can make, at what time, during what events. Athletes are role models for the world and there is a lot of attention on them. They have their opinions and if they want to share that, that is important.

 “There are very strict rules in the charter. At the medal ceremonies, they cannot make their opinions but in press conferences or interviews, athletes are free to express their opinions. But athletes need to be responsible for what they say. We’ll work with the IOC and make sure that Rule 50 is strictly followed.”

Yang’s comments follow others from Beijing 2022 deputy director general, Yang Shu, who said last month that athletes could be punished if their comments on human rights issues are “against the Olympic spirit, especially against Chinese laws and regulations”.