Following the lead of the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom have announced that they will also not be sending officials to the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to the poor human rights record of the People's Republic of China.
According to a report on Dec. 8 by Reuters, the U.S. was the first to announce a diplomatic boycott, citing “human rights atrocities.” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed that the U.K. will be following suit when speaking to parliament.
“There will effectively be a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, no ministers are expected to attend and no officials,” Johnson said.
As is the case with the U.S., U.K. athletes will be able to compete. Johnson said he does not see sporting boycotts as sensible and it “remains the policy of the government.”
The report by Reuters said that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the decision to join the diplomatic boycott is due to struggles in having discussions with China to address the alleged human rights issues, as well as Beijing’s moves against Australian imports.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that his country joining the boycott should not come as a surprise, as there have long been concerns about human rights in China.
The Globe Banner previously reported that the United States issued a diplomatic boycott of the games. White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated in the announcement that athletes are still encouraged to go and they have the full support of the United States.
The Biden Administration cited human rights concerns over the reports of cruelty against Uyghur Muslims in the country, with Reuters reporting that he called it genocide. The Globe Banner reported that there have been reports of “labor transfer programs” as well as torture, forced sterilization and forced marriages between Uyghur and non-Uyghur people. China has vehemently denied any human rights violations.
Reuters reported that China has responded by saying that the U.S. will “pay a price.” It was also reported that China said the British officials were not even invited in the first place, and that this is a “political smear campaign” by the U.K. Chinese Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Australia was involved in “political posturing” and “whether they come or not, nobody cares.”