White House announces a diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics 2022

Asia-Pacific, News, US December 7, 2021 , by IRIA 1 Comment

Biden Administration in an official White House Statement announced a diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics 2022, over the concerns of China’s genocidal activities and human rights violations.

The same policy would be applied for the Paralympics games that shall also take place in Beijing following the Winter Olympics.

The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in her Monday news briefing that, “The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games given the PRC’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses.”

“The athletes will be participating. We will be rooting for the athletes from home,” Psaki said in a response to a question about athletes’ participation in the event.

A diplomatic boycott means that although U.S. athletes would participate in the event, the government officials will not attend the games.

China has been under fire especially from the western world for cracking down on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and for its policies towards Taiwan. A major allegation on China is abusing millions of ethnic minorities into government-controlled facilities.

Republican lawmakers in the U.S. had been pushing the Biden Administration to take strict actions over the allegations of China’s human rights violations especially in the context of the upcoming Winter Olympics and the Paralympics in Beijing.

Some Republican representatives are still not satisfied with the diplomatic boycott claiming it to be a soft response to the situation. They have asked to proclaim a stronger message against China. Senator Tom Cotton urged the Biden Administration to call for a complete boycott of the games including keeping the U.S. Athletes from competing in the Olympics to send a strong message to China.

Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responded to the diplomatic boycott by stating that, “The Winter Olympics is not a stage for political show and political manipulation. This is a naked political provocation, and a serious offense to the 1.4 billion Chinese people.”

Many other countries had expressed similar concerns about China in the past with their civil communities asking for a boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics 2022. After the White House’s announcement, it is expected that more countries would follow and boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022.