December 07, (THEWILL) – The US will boycott the Winter Olympics in Beijing to protest Chinese human rights abuses, the White House announced on Monday, a move that China had threatened to respond to with “firm countermeasures.”
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said US athletes will compete and will “have our full support” but “we will not be contributing to the fanfare of the games”.
Speaking to reporters during Monday’s briefing, Psaki said: “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.
“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.”
On Thursday and Friday this week, Biden will convene a White House Summit for Democracy, a virtual gathering of leaders and civil society specialists from more than 100 countries.
According to the White House, Biden intends to use the convening “to announce both individual and collective commitments, reforms, and initiatives to defend democracy and human rights at home and abroad”.
But, Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, accused US politicians of grandstanding over the subject of not sending dignitaries to events where China wishes to display its economic development and technological strength.
Zhao told reporters at a daily briefing that such an action would be an “outright political provocation,” but he did not say how China would respond.
A boycott, according to human rights organisations and lawmakers in the United States, is a necessary move. They reference China’s terrible human rights record as reason, claiming that the games are being used to cover up the country’s mistreatment of civil rights advocates, political dissidents, and ethnic minorities.
However, Zhao countered by saying: “Without being invited, American politicians keep hyping the so-called diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which is purely wishful thinking and grandstanding.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
