The U.S. government has just announced a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Beijing edition of the Winter Olympic Games. This means that President Joe Biden and his administration will stay away from Beijing and China during the Games, although U.S. athletes will be allowed to compete. “The Biden administration will not send diplomats or official representatives to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics. This is due to the ongoing genocides and human rights abuses in Xinjiang, as well as other human rights violations,” said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki. Biden had already threatened this measure two weeks ago in protest against human rights violations in China, the repression of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and the repression against the democracy movement in Hong Kong. Subsequently, the Australian government announced a diplomatic boycott of the Games for similar reasons and others. The British parliament had already voted in July to approve a non-binding motion for a diplomatic boycott of the Games.
Photo: Michael Schofield on Unsplash
