These countries join Beijing in US diplomatic boycott

(CNN) – Australia will join United States In a diplomatic boycott Beijing Winter Olympics 2022, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday. According to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s official Twitter account, Canada will do the same. The United Kingdom is also joining the movement.

Morrison said the government would keep official representatives at home while Australian athletes continue to attend the Games in February.

At a press conference in Sydney, the Australian leader said that “human rights violations and problems in Xinjiang” were some of the concerns raised by the Australian government to Beijing.

“I am very pleased to talk to the Chinese government on these issues. There is no impediment on our part to make that happen, but the Chinese government does not continue to seize those opportunities.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will join the diplomatic boycott.
“Canada is deeply concerned about reports of human rights abuses in China. As a result, we will not send embassy representatives to Beijing for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. We will continue to support hard workers competing on the world stage,” Trudeau said in a tweet.

Canada is deeply concerned by reports of human rights violations in China. As a result, we will not send ambassadors to Beijing for the Olympic and Paralympic winter games. We will continue to support our athletes who work hard to compete on the world stage.

– Justin Trudeau (JustinTrudeau) December 8, 2021

For its part, the UK on Wednesday said it would join the US, Canada and Australia in the Beijing Winter Olympics embassy boycott, which provoked strong condemnation from China, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying he was trying to tarnish the Games. Reuters reported.

“Diplomatic boycott will be a reality at the Beijing Winter Olympics and no ministers or officials will attend,” Johnson was quoted as saying. “I do not think sports boycotts are wise, it is the policy of the government,” he added.

For months, activists have called for a boycott of sports for the Chinese government’s human rights abuses. Xinjiang And Tibet and its Political repression in Hong Kong.

The United States and other Western nations have accused Beijing of detaining more than a million Muslim-majority Uyghurs in Xinjiang detention centers, where some former prisoners have been tortured, raped or forcibly sterilized.

Beijing denies the allegations and says they are re-education centers designed to fight separatism and Islamic terrorism in the western region.

On Wednesday, the Chinese embassy in Australia criticized Canberra’s decision to boycott the Games, saying it would not improve existing cold relations between the two countries.

“As we all know, the blame for the current state of Sino-Australian relations lies with the Australian side,” the statement said.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has set a target of hosting the Games in January.Human rights standardsActivists said that giving a high-level event to China added legitimacy to the actions of the ruling Communist Party.

Morrison’s announcement comes after the Biden administration on Monday decided not to send an official U.S. delegation to the Games, the first country to confirm its diplomatic boycott.

White House spokesman Zhen Zhao said the US boycott was a statement against “China’s genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.”

American athletes can continue to compete in sports, but the administration does not send officers. The same principle applies to the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games scheduled for March in Beijing.

Following the US decision, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it had launched a “conclusive representation” with Washington and promised to take “strong counter-measures” without specifying what those measures would be.

The United States will host the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, and the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia.

In his comments on Wednesday, Morrison said Australia was a great sports country and that the IOC should be the best for the Beijing Winter Games.

“I am very divided on the issue of sports and the problems between the two governments … Australia will not back down from its strong position in defending the interests of Australians,” Morrison said.

De Ben Westcott, Caitlin McKee y Reuters