No U.S. official will attend Beijing Winter Olympics, White House announces
Category: News & Politics
Via: sister-mary-agnes-ample-bottom • 3 years ago • 65 commentsBy: Ellen Nakashima, Rick Maese
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The United States will not send President Biden or any U.S. government official to the Beijing Winter Olympics in February in a signal of displeasure over China’s human rights abuses, the White House announced Monday.
The diplomatic boycott allows American athletes to participate in the Games, but is a significant political snub to Washington’s greatest military and economic competitor.
Pressure to mount such a boycott has been building for months, with lawmakers from both parties and human rights advocates calling on the Biden administration to not attend in response to Beijing’s repressive policies against democracy activists in Hong Kong and Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region. The administration in March declared China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims a genocide.
“The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic games given the PRC’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. “The athletes on team USA have our full support. We will be behind them 100 percent as we cheer them on from home. We will not be contributing to the fanfare of the games.”
Biden told reporters last month that he was weighing a diplomatic boycott.
The decision stands in contrast to 1980, when President Jimmy Carter kept U.S. officials and athletes out of the Summer Games in Moscow in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Though more than 60 countries joined the boycott in 1980, hundreds of American athletes were deprived of their chance at Olympic glory.
The U.S. government cannot unilaterally bar athletes from the Olympics or declare a boycott. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, an independent nonprofit organization, has sole authority to make the final call.
[Pressure mounts for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics]
“I want to stress that the Winter Olympic Games is not a stage for political posturing and manipulation,” said Zhao Lijian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, on Monday, responding to reports that a boycott announcement was imminent. “U.S. politicians keep hyping a ‘diplomatic boycott’ without even being invited to the Games. This wishful thinking and pure grandstanding is aimed at political manipulation. It is a grave travesty of the spirit of the Olympic Charter, a blatant political provocation and a serious affront to the 1.4 billion Chinese people.”
The Olympics host committee, Beijing 2022, said in a statement last month it “has been upholding its commitment to hosting the Games in an open manner, and has been welcoming people from all walks of life and from all countries...to participate in the Games in their own ways.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin will be attending the event , according to Russian media reports in September. He accepted an invitation from Beijing to attend despite Russian athletes being barred from competing under the Russian flag and anthem until December 2022 as a result of a long-running, state-sponsored doping program.
An International Olympic Committee spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday.
For months, U.S. Olympic officials have voiced opposition to any sort of athlete protest, urging government leaders to pursue other avenues to voice displeasure with China and its policies.
“We greatly appreciate the unwavering support of the President and his administration and we know they will be cheering us on from home this winter,” Sarah Hirshland, chief executive of the USOPC, said in a statement Monday. “Competing on behalf of the United States is an honor and a privilege, and Team USA is excited and ready to make the nation proud.”
With less than two months to go before the Beijing opening ceremonies, the announced diplomatic boycott is just the latest mark against a Winter Games that has been controversial since the day China was awarded hosting rights in 2015.
The country most recently has come under fire for its response to Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai ’s public accusations that she was sexually assaulted by Zhang Gaoli, a former vice premier who played a key role in securing the Beijing Winter Games.
Peng was not heard from for nearly three weeks, sparking concern across the sports world. She finally participated in a video call with IOC officials on Nov. 21, but Olympic leaders have faced heavy criticism for their handling of the matter, which the IOC has described as a “quiet diplomacy approach.”
A diplomatic boycott is largely symbolic in nature and isn’t likely to impact the competition or the related pageantry. Government leaders and other dignitaries are typically invited to the Summer and Winter Games at the behest of the organizers. They generally sit in private sections removed from the others in attendance. On some occasions, delegations include presidents or heads of state, but countries are often represented by ambassadors, presidential family members and other elected leaders.
The Tokyo Summer Olympics were closed to spectators but diplomatic representative and dignitaries were allowed in the venues. The scaled-back U.S. contingent was led by Jill Biden, the first lady, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Raymond Greene, the charge d’affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
During the previous administration, President Trump stayed home during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics but sent a delegation that included Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump. Several U.S. presidents have also attended the Summer and Winter Olympics. President Obama traveled to the 2012 Games in London and President George W. Bush attended the 2006 Games in Torino.
Rick.Maese@washpost.com
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“The athletes on team USA have our full support. We will be behind them 100 percent as we cheer them on from home. We will not be contributing to the fanfare of the games.”
~White House press secretary Jen Psaki
Nice, can't believe they are doing this. Good on them .... very good on them.
Glad to see the White House is not stopping the athletes from participating
Agreed!
Morning..don't think anyone is going to miss a bunch of free loading diplomats from any country to be honest.
Oh, but shona1, Xi Jinping is crying his eyes out over not having American diplomats attend. He was so looking forward to forcing them to undergo 15 days quarantine in a Xinjiang reeducation camp.
Good just announced here we are not sending any free loading diplomats either...
What a cost saving for us and the Chinese...the Games are for athletes not bludging bloody diplomats who have got their snouts in the trough...
Canada and the UK have now followed the American ploy, all being good poodles for America. But you and I should never change our avatars because of what their temporary governments might do. I am still proud to be a Canadian and loyal to my nation no matter how much I despise its leader. Other than McKenzie King I think Justin Trudeau is the worst Prime Minister Canada has ever had, and the funny thing is that I have always felt that his father was the best Prime Minister Canada ever had.
Hell any other country would be celebrating....less free loaders...why in the hell are flipping diplomats at Olympic Games in the first place...I didn't know that and quite frankly I think it is nothing but a free loading jaunt and for them to live it up...
It will always be a given the West will back up the West.no different to China backing up North Korea, Iran...and lately getting very friendly with Putin...
Never changing my avatar..very happy with our government and its stands and I think Trudeau is doing a good job...but as with most things can't please everyone..🇦🇺🇨🇦
Trudeau is doing a good job? That's your opinion and you're not a Canadian, Shona1. I read the Canadian news every day and am in close contact with my daughter who lives in Toronto. I won't venture an opinion about Australia's PM because I'm not an Aurstralian and don't know enough to do so.
Trudeau cast a UN vote against Israel, which no Canadian PM has done for many decades. Maybe that's a reason why the harassing of Jewish students and antisemitism is burgeoning on Canadian university campuses and elsewhere. Gun violence is increasing and the virus is eluding being under control - my daughter has been working from Toronto home from shortly after the virus appeared. I'm not exactly happy with how Canada is being governed these days.
No I am not a Canadian but from what I have seen and heard he is not to bad...and yes that is my opinion...
Just the same as what I think about China...and I am sure it is no different to what you think about Australia..
Australia has always and does back Israel... nothing has ever changed there and China does not like that either. But that is just a given...
At least if you don't like the government here and in Canada you can vote them out...what does China do for elections?? Or does the Party vote the leader in??
I really don't want to get into a discussion about it with you on this seed, but I'm actually happier living in a country where almost everyone is happy with the government in power and things get done for the benefit of most people, than I would be in one where no matter who is in power and governs about half the country is unhappy and things that need to get done are either delayed by fighting over it or don't get done at all. It is the reason why China has progressed so quickly, and will continue to do so.
No worries..I am off to go and do some Christmas shopping and have a coffee..
Enjoy your arvo..
LOL. Thanks. Just In case anyone besides me was curious...
Sorry habit..keep forgetting about our slang... it's every day usage and I think nothing of it..
No need to apologize - I'm not being critical - I respect your inventive use of the language.
Geez you went to some trouble to translate it..
No wonder people can't understand us at times...
I know in Vietnam and Afghanistan alot of troops from other countries could not understand what our mob was talking about...
Bit of a worry when bombs and bullets were flying around...
Wow. Yeah, I’m sure this will change a lot of minds and policies in China.
LOL. You didn't even need to put a "/s" after that comment.
No one is expecting it to; but in the world of politics this is what is done. If Biden would have attended both the left and right would have trashed him for it.
You mean in the AMERICAN world of politics that is what is done - politicizing and weaponizing sport, trade, and whatever else it can. Summoning foreign diplomats and banishing them is using political methods for political results. So much hatred of China has been manufactured and that pot kept stirring that ANY move that is interpreted as alleviating it would be a home-front political disaster for whoever did it.
Good sounds like the these Olympics are better than the last one already. Next step is to get all politicians, everywhere to stay home
Why should they be allowed there when the families and friends of the athletes can't be?
Unlike most other nations, China has a ZERO COVID policy, which, in my opinion, it could be the safest country in the world from being infected. This from the internet:
Canada announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics
http:// hill.cm/gOsBjdG
Already old news. Trudeau made Canada America's poodle long ago. I'm proud of being a Canadian, but I'm not at all proud of Trudeau as PM - complete opposite of his great father.
Nah, it's looks like Trudeau is finally learning to stand up to the real world bully.
China.
China just hates it when that can't turn other people and countries into their lap dogs.
Good on you Justin. Good on you!
To be fair China did respond to all of this - correct?
Yes. They basically said that the boycott was politicizing sport and was contrary to the spirit of the Olympics and in any event, no international diplomats were invited anyway, so they considered the boycott announcements to just have been to please their own constituencies.
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I thought they said that two could play that game....in so many words?
Yes, I forgot. They said they would be providing a suitable response. I'm pretty curious about what that could be.
It's about 11 p.m. and I'm turning off my computer. Your friends can now have a field day with my comments because I won't be here to respond.