The United States confirmed on Monday that will not send any diplomatic representative at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, in protest of the human rights abuses in the Asian giant, although the American athletes will take part in the event.
“The Biden Government will not send no diplomatic representation nor an official at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics, “White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a daily news conference.
Psaki has blamed the decision on “persistent genocide and crimes against humanity in (northwest China’s) region of Xinjiang, as well as other human rights abuses” in China.
“The athletes on the United States team have our full support, and we will be supporting them from home, however we will not contribute to the fanfare of the Games“, Biden spokeswoman said.
The diplomatic boycott, which has already been advanced by various US media, seeks to “send a clear signal” that the human rights situation in China, where there are “atrocious abuses”, cannot be treated as “normal”, he said. Psaki.
At the same time, the White House has decided not to ban the participation of American athletes, something that would have meant a complete boycott at the Games, because he doesn’t want to “penalize” athletes who have been training for months or years to prepare for the Olympics, he added.
The Chinese government said last week that he had no plans to invite U.S. politicians to the Winter Games, although the International Olympic Committee had the last word on this possibility.
Biden’s decision is less drastic than that taken in 1980 by then-US President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), who announced a full boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympics in response to the Soviet invasion of Moscow. ‘Afghanistan.
This meant that American athletes they were unable to participate in the Games, unlike this time.
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