House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a warning to American athletes traveling to China: they would be risking retaliation from the “ruthless” Chinese government if they attempted to protest at the Olympic Opening Ceremony or other forums during the Winter Games. Several world leaders representing western nations are not attending the Beijing Winter Games in protest of human rights violations the Chinese government is committing against their Uyghur population. Uyghurs are a largely Muslim ethnic minority group in China, and a significant percentage of their population has been detained in internm…