White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed on Monday that the US will move forward with a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
China threatened to take’resolute measures’ against the US if it continues its diplomatic boycott of 2022’s games.
‘Considering the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity committed by the PRC in Xinjiang, the Biden administration won’t send any official or diplomatic representations to Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics/Paralympic Games.
“We won’t be participating in the fanfare for the games.”
Asked if a diplomatic boycott was enough, Psaki told reporters: ‘This is just indication it cannot be business as usual.’
She said, “That doesn’t mean that this is the final time we’ll raise concerns,”
When asked why they didn’t pursue a complete boycott of the government, the press secretary said that they did not believe it was necessary to punish athletes.
“We thought we could send out a clear message by not sending an US official delegation,” she said.
“We will support the home athletes. “I am obsessed with the Olympics.
It was widely believed that the Biden administration would announce the diplomatic boycott of the US this week. This means that US officials won’t attend the games, but American athletes will continue to compete.
It is a compromise between human rights activists who seek a total withdrawal of China from its abuses of Uighur minorities in Xinjiang and athletes who train for a long time to compete.
Fans from China can only attend this year’s games. They will take place in February 2022, between 4 and 20.
China’s foreign ministry Zhao Lijian declared Monday at a press conference that “If the U.S. insists on willfully adhering to its course”, China will take strong countermeasures.
Zhao claimed that the calls for a boycott were ‘grandstanding’. They must cease’so they do not affect the dialogue between China and America in key areas.
Biden sat virtually down with Chinese President Xi Jinping on November where world leaders voiced their disapproval over many matters
Biden will announce this week that the US will be implementing a diplomatic boycott. That means US government officials and athletes won’t have to attend the Games.
Fans from China will not be allowed to watch the 2022 games, which run February 4-20 in Beijing.
Biden virtually sat down with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, where the world leaders expressed their disagreement on the handling of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, trade and competition rules, Beijing’s expanding nuclear arsenal and its stepped-up pressure on Taiwan, among other issues.
According to Andrew Bates, White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said that the Olympics topic was not brought up in Biden’s almost 3 and a quarter hour meeting with Xi. A White House official earlier stated that leaders from around the world engaged in “healthy discussion” but they didn’t reach any major breakthroughs.
A readout of the conversation shows that Biden raised concerns about China’s treatment of Xinjiang and Tibet in addition to human rights generally.
While the US will inform its allies, it leaves them free to choose whether or not to participate in 2022 Beijing Games.
Jill Biden was the first lady to attend the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
In 1980, the Olympics were held in Moscow (Russia) and the US was the last to boycott them. The US led boycott of the Olympics by 65 countries was in protest at the Soviet invasion Afghanistan.
Not only was the US refusing to allow their athletes to participate, but they also warned them that they could lose their US passports if they compete under their Olympic flag.
The traditional flame lighting ceremony was disrupted by human rights activists in south Greece last month. These protestors were upset that Beijing had been scheduled for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The 2022 Olympics have been dubbed “genocide games” by them.
European Parliament and UK parliament voted in July 2021 for a diplomatic boycott against the games. Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, argued for a boycott of the diplomatic games to prevent athletes being punished.
Some Olympic broadcasters, such as NBC, tried to cancel their plans to broadcast the games’ broadcasting because of abuses against human rights.
Beijing began a vicious targeted campaign to eliminate its Uighur minorities in Xinjiang. This resulted in the arrest of more than a half a million Uighurs as well as other Muslim minorities and forced them into detention centers and prisons.
Chinese authorities say their goal is not to eliminate the Uighurs — a historically Muslim group of 13 million people — but to integrate them.
China’s crackdown against protestors in Hong Kong and its encroachment upon Taiwan and Tibet, as well as the cover-up of Covid-19’s origins have also drawn international condemnation.
Chinese state media reported that Xi advised Biden not to encourage Taiwanese independence after the summit.
“Some Americans intend to use Taiwan to rule China,” he said. According to Xinhua, he said that this trend was very risky and is similar to playing with fire. Those who play with fire are likely get burnt.
Biden angered China weeks later by inviting Taiwan for a virtual democracy summit on December 2.
The State Department invites 110 people to the virtual meeting on December 9-10, which will focus on strengthening democracy around the globe. China was not included in the invitation list.
China views Taiwan as nothing but an extension of its territory. Although the US acknowledged Taiwan’s independence in 1979, the US and China still have a strong unofficial relationship.