In October, Scott sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) detailing the human-rights abuses of Uighur Muslims in the province of Xinjiang, as well as the people of Hong Kong.

IOC President Thomas Bach replied saying that the IOC has to remain "politically neutral".

Scott introduced a bipartisan resolution to the United States senate last month calling on the IOC to "rebid the 2022 Winter Olympics to be hosted by a country that recognises and respects human rights," if China did not demonstrate "significant progress in securing fundamental human rights" by January 2021. 

He is known for taking a hard line on China and this is far from the only issue Scott has used to criticise the country - in recent weeks he has also been heavily critical of the World Health Organization, accusing it of work with China to underplay the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak there.

Now, in an op-ed in the Washington Examiner, Scott has continued to criticise China's Government, insisting more must be done to improve the freedoms enjoyed by Chinese citizens.

He wrote: "The Government is denying basic rights to the people of Hong Kong, cracking down on protesters, journalists, and dissidents, holding one million Uighurs in concentration camps because of their religion, and continuing to lie about the spread of the coronavirus.

"In 2019, the world watched as thousands of Hong Kongers were imprisoned merely for protesting the erosion of freedom and autonomy they were guaranteed.

"Simply because of their religion, more than one million Uighurs are facing torture in internment camps designed to erase their cultural identity."

Chinese President Xi Jinping has faced pressure in the past after 22 countries, four of which are represented on the IOC Executive Board, wrote a joint letter condemning the treatment of those in Xinjiang.

Scott also mentioned China's imprisonment of lawyers aiming to improve human rights in the country. 

"Since 2015, China has led a campaign against human rights lawyers, detaining or revoking the licenses of hundreds of attorneys, further restricting access to legal representation for citizens considered political dissidents", wrote the junior Senator for Florida.

Scott added: "The IOC has an obligation to create an environment where athletes feel safe to compete and we all have an obligation to use one of the world's biggest stages to speak out when host countries do not create a safe environment for their own people."

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are set to take place from February 4 to 20, with some events be held in Zhangjiakou, roughly 140 miles away.

When Beijing hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 2008, the global Torch Relay encountered protests over human rights abuses.