The United States will not send any diplomatic representatives to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing, due to the “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” the White House announced on Monday. By being present, “the American diplomatic representation would treat these Games as if nothing had happened, despite the gross human rights violations and China’s atrocities in Xinjiang. And we just can’t do that, ”said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
American athletes will still be allowed to compete but may be less likely to line up in the events. The International Olympic Committee has indicated that it respects this diplomatic boycott and is delighted that this “political” decision does not call into question the participation of American athletes. “The presence of government officials and diplomats is a purely political decision for each government, which the IOC, in its political neutrality, fully respects,” said a spokesperson for the Olympic body.
The last time the United States completely boycotted the Olympics was in 1980, during the Moscow Games, when President Jimmy Carter was in office. This threat of boycott has been announced for several months. In the Republican camp, “hawks” have called for a total boycott of sports competition by officials but also by athletes, to denounce the repression of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, described as “genocide” by Washington or against the repression of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. For her part, Nancy Pelosi, President of the House of Representatives had already pleaded last May for a diplomatic boycott to denounce human rights abuses.
With such a diplomatic gesture by the United States, two questions remain. Will other countries follow them by taking a similar diplomatic position? But, it is above all the reaction of Beijing that is expected. Last April, China already warned that any boycott of “its” Winter Games would be the subject of a “robust Chinese response”. A Chinese government spokesman said this time that if the United States persisted in this path, China would take retaliatory action.
