The United States has announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, citing human rights abuses, in a move that will not stop US athletes from competing.
White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki who revealed this, added that the Biden Administration will not send diplomatic or official representation, but will, however, give its full support to the athletes on Team USA, cheering them from home.
This, she said, was based on “PRC’s (People’s Republic of China) ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses”.
This decision comes in finally after months of the US government’s deliberation on the best way to position itself with regard to the hosting of the forthcoming Winter Games by a country it accused of perpetrating “genocide” against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, northwest China.
Psaki stated that sending official representatives to the Olympics will imply its support for such crimes.
Ahead of the boycott, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian had threatened “countermeasures” if such got announced.
In response to the announcement, the Chinese government maintained that the Olympics will be a success.
