The United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Australia and Lithuania have all announced that they are considering a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Human rights groups across the world have been calling for the boycott since the announcement that the Olympics would be held in China. The call, initially to draw attention to the inappropriateness of supporting China’s human rights abuses, particularly towards Tibetans, the Uyghur population of East Turkestan [Ch: Xinjiang] and the people of Hong Kong, has gained more attention and support from the world sports community with the recent incident of the disappearance of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai after she said publicly that she had been sexually exploited by a top Chinese leader.
On November 18, US President Joe Biden said that he is considering diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics; this would mean no US officials would attend the games. “That is something we are considering,” said Biden to the reporters before his meeting with leaders of Mexico and Canada.
Joining the US, a Canadian foreign affairs spokesperson said that Canada will continue discuss with its partners a potential diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, reports CTVNews.ca. “Canada remains deeply disturbed by the troubling reports of human rights violations in China,” said Syrine Khoury, Press Secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, in a statement to CTVNews.ca.
According to the Business Standard, responding to the US President’s possible boycott of the game, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that US “falsely accuses” China of committing genocide and forced labour in East Turkestan. “Any politicisation of sport violates the Olympic spirit and harms the interests of athletes of all countries,” he added.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also reported to be considering a diplomatic boycott in protest against China’s record on human rights, reported Reuters on November 20,saying that Johnson had confirmed that “active discussion” is going in the government. The report said that five Conservative politicians wrote to Johnson urging him to ban any official UK diplomatic representation at the Winter Olympics.
In Lithuania, a group of members of the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) have signed a joint appeal letter to their government, politicians and athletes, urging them to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics. MP Andrius Navickas, Chair of the Lithuanian All Party Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet signed the letter, together with 17 members of the Lithuanian Parliament. The appeal letter expressed concerns over China’s human rights violation and aggression against Uyghurs, Tibetans inside Tibet, and the people of Hong Kong and Taiwan. “We appeal to the Lithuanian National Olympic Committee and leaders of all sports federations operating in Lithuania, calling on them for maintaining a position of principal that prestigious international sports tournaments and championships cannot take place in authoritarian states where human rights are not respected and where regimes try to employ sports for the promotion of their own image”, said the letter.
Rights groups across the world have been calling for the boycott in response to China’s treatment of Tibetans and Muslim Uyghurs, and its political actions in Hong Kong.
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