US ANNOUNCES DIPLOMATIC BOYCOTT OF BEIJING WINTER OLYMPICS

Tue 07 December 2021:

The US will boycott the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing in protest of Chinese human rights violations, the White House announced on Monday.

China has vowed to greet the move with “firm countermeasures.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki says US athletes will continue to compete and will “have our full support,” but added: “we will not be contributing to the fanfare of the games.”

“US diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC’s egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang, and we simply can’t do that,” Psaki told reporters during Monday’s briefing.

“We have a fundamental commitment to promoting human rights. And we feel strongly in our position and we will continue to take actions to advance human rights in China and beyond,” Psaki added.

The diplomatic blockade comes as the US seeks to normalize tense relations with China while maintaining a harsh stance on trade and disputes over China’s policies on Taiwan, human rights, Hong Kong, and the South China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian accused US politicians of grandstanding over the issue of not sending dignitaries to attend events that China hopes will showcase its economic development and technological prowess.

Speaking to reporters at a daily briefing, Zhao said such a move would be an “outright political provocation,” but gave no details on how China might retaliate.

Human rights advocates and lawmakers in the US who support a boycott say it is a necessary step. They cite China’s poor record on human rights as justification, saying China is using the games to whitewash its ill-treatment of civil rights activists, political dissidents and ethnic minorities.

“Without being invited, American politicians keep hyping the so-called diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which is purely wishful thinking and grandstanding,” Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing. “If the US side is bent on going its own way, China will take firm countermeasures.”

Beijing has reacted angrily to any US critiques, dismissing them as meddling in its domestic affairs and imposing visa bans on US politicians it considers to be anti-China.

It was unclear who the US might have sent to Beijing for the games, and Zhao’s comments appeared to imply that no invites had been offered.

(with agencies)

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