Beijing Olympics 2022 - UK, Australia join US in diplomatic boycott of Winter games over China’s ‘human rights abuses’
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Updated 08/12/2021 at 17:48 GMT
The US announced a diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 on Monday. Australia and the UK have followed suit two days later. PM Scott Morrison said their concerns are related to politics, and the nation will still send athletes to China. The Chinese embassy in Australia called the move “political posturing”. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK will also diplomatically boycott the Games.
Great Britain at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Image credit: Getty Images
The United Kingdom and Australia will join the US’s diplomatic boycott of next year’s Winter Olympics in China.
Athletes from the UK and Australia will still attend Beijing 2022, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the UK will diplomatically boycott the tournament over human rights concerns.
Johnson said at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday: "There will be effectively a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, no ministers are expected to attend and no officials.
"I do not think that sporting boycotts are sensible and that remains the policy of the government. The government has no hesitation in raising these [human rights] issues with China, as I did with President Xi [Jinping] the last time I talked to him."
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the decision to not send any diplomats was a response to the "human rights abuses" in China's Xinjiang province and "many other issues that Australia has consistently raised".
"People have been very aware that we have been raising a number of issues that have not been received well in China and there’s been a disagreement between us on those matters," said Morrison in Sydney.
"The human rights abuses in Xinjiang and many other issues that Australia has consistently raised - we have been very pleased and very happy to talk to the Chinese Government about these issues and there’s been no obstacle to that occurring on our side, but the Chinese Government has consistently not accepted those opportunities for us to meet about these issues.
"So it is not surprising, therefore, that Australian Government officials would not be going to China for those Games.
Australian athletes will, though. Australia’s a great sporting nation and I very much separate the issues of sport and these other political issues. They’re issues between two governments.
The Chinese embassy in Australia responded by saying: "Mountains cannot stop the river from flowing into the sea. Australia's success at the Beijing Winter Olympics depends on the performance of Australian athletes, not on the attendance of Australian officials, and the political posturing by some Australian politicians."
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China said the US would "pay the price" for its diplomatic boycott.
The US will still give its athletes “full support” for the event, which starts in Beijing on February 4.
"The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics games given the PRC's ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday.
"We simply can't treat these Games as business as usual. [This is not] the end of the concerns we will raise about human rights abuses."
Canada have also announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the country is "extremely concerned" about China's human rights abuses and has been discussing the matter with allies.
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