Update 5 Feb 2022: Final Beijing Olympic torchbearer's Uighur ethnicity not a factor, IOC says
Dinigeer Yilamujiang (left) and Zhao Jiawen, the last two torchbearers of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on Feb 4, 2022. PHOTO: NYTIMES
A cross country skier born in Xinjiang, who was one of the two final torchbearers at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Friday (Feb 4), was not picked because of where she comes from, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Saturday. Dinigeer Yilamujiang, from Altay in China's western Xinjiang region, placed the lit torch onto a giant snowflake along with Zhao Jiawen, a 21-year-old biathlete, before it was lifted high above the spectators at Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium.
The selection of Yilamujiang as one of the final two torchbearers came as many western nations staged a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games over China's treatment of Uighurs and members of other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang. "Obviously the opening ceremony is something that the organising committee put together and there's creative input," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. "We are involved to a certain extent." "This is an athlete who is competing here, she is competing this morning. She has every right, wherever she comes from, whatever her background, to compete... and to take part in any ceremony."
Games organisers said the final handful of torchbearers who entered the stadium with the flame had been picked based on their birth dates, with each having been born in a different decade, starting from the 1950s through to the 2000s. Yilamujiang is the first Chinese cross-country skiing medallist at any international federation-level event and is a medal hopeful in a sport in which China has not traditionally excelled.
US boycotts the Beijing Winter Olympics
The US has announced a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The UK, France and Japan are still undecided. Palki Sharma tells you why such half-measures will do little to deter Beijing.
IOC statement on today’s announcement by the US government
The presence of government officials and diplomats is a purely political decision for each government, which the IOC in its political neutrality fully respects. At the same time, this announcement also makes clear that the Olympic Games and the participation of the athletes are beyond politics, and we welcome this.
Support for the athletes and the Olympic Games has been expressed multiple times in recent months, most recently in the United Nations resolution entitled “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal”, adopted by consensus of all 193 Member States and co-sponsored by 173 Member States at the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York just last week.
This resolution calls for the observance of the Olympic Truce for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Beijing 2022, from seven days before the start of the Olympic Games, on 4 February 2022, until seven days after the end of the Paralympic Games. It also “calls upon all Member States to cooperate with the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee in their efforts to use sport as a tool to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation in areas of conflict during and beyond the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games”.
IOC says it ‘respects’ US boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
The US government on Monday announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February in response to what it called ‘ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity’. Photograph: Andre M Chang/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that it respects the United States’ decision to diplomatically boycott the forthcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, while defending its “quiet diplomacy” in handling the case of Chinese tennis player, Peng Shuai.
“We always ask for as much respect as possible and least possible interference from the political world,” said Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, the IOC’s coordination commission chief for the Beijing Winter Olympics. “We have to be reciprocal. We respect the political decisions taken by political bodies.” The Biden administration on Monday announced a diplomatic boycott of the Games in response to what it called “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses”. American athletes, however, are still expected to compete.
China accused the US of “political posturing and manipulation” and tried to discredit the decision by claiming that American diplomats had not even been invited to Beijing in the first place. “The US should stop politicising sports, and stop disrupting and undermining the Beijing Winter Olympics, lest it should affect bilateral dialogue and cooperation in important areas and international and regional issues,” foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian warned. The move sparked a new round of disputes between the world’s two largest economies and prompted Beijing to warn on Tuesday that Washington will “pay a price” for its decision.
IOC faces questions over US diplomatic boycott
The International Olympic Committee has reiterated that it respects the political decision made by the United States not to send government delegates to the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.
The IOC Executive Board met online from its base in Lausanne, Switzerland on Tuesday to check preparations for the Beijing Games, which will open in less than two months' time. After the meeting, IOC members held a news conference and were peppered with questions on the US diplomatic boycott.
The IOC's Beijing Coordination Commission Chair, Juan Antonio Samaranch, said, "We respect the political decisions taken by political bodies." He added, "We always ask for as much respect as possible and least possible interference from the political world." He expressed hope that athletes from around the world can stay at the Olympic village in a friendly atmosphere.
IOC member says diplomatic boycott of Olympics won't sway Beijing
“That’s a way that governments can signal their disapproval of whatever the particular Chinese policies may be — whether it makes any difference to the Chinese is anybody's guess. I would say, basically, no,” Pound, a Canadian and former vice-president of the IOC, told POLITICO on Friday. “Kind of by default, everyone's backing into a position that the athletes will go, the games will go on and the relationships with China will take their course.”
On Monday, the White House announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing games, citing China’s persecution of ethnic Uyghur Muslims and other human rights abuses. “The athletes on Team USA have our full support,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily briefing. “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.” Other western democracies, including Canada, are considering diplomatic boycotts of the games, which are set to begin Feb. 4.
Boycotting Beijing Winter Games only hurts Washington's image
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden on December 7 confirmed, as was anticipated for some time, that the United States will not send officials to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in protest over alleged human rights abuses.
According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, the reason is China's "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses."
This move by the U.S. is a highly provocative step that is both illogical and only damages the very spirit of international solidarity that the Olympic Games embody.
'B-word' prompts fear and loathing for IOC and the Games
Skiers will ski, curlers will curl and medals will be awarded as usual at the Beijing Winter Olympics but the absence of any U.S. government officials will probably be a diplomatic sore for the host nation and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The American diplomatic boycott, especially on the back of claims of Chinese human rights "atrocities", is a blow to the Games, which the IOC loves to promote as a driver for world peace and co-operation.
"Anybody who is thinking about a boycott should learn this lesson from history," IOC President Thomas Bach has said. "A sports boycott serves nothing. It's only hurting the athletes, and it's hurting the population of the country because they are losing the joy to share, the pride, the success with their Olympic team."
China says US will 'pay the price' for diplomatic boycott of Olympics
The United States will have to "pay a price" for its diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China said on Tuesday (Dec 7), just weeks after talks aimed at easing tense relations between the two nations.
On Monday, the White House said US government officials would boycott the Winter Olympics because of China's human rights "atrocities", although US athletes are free to travel there to compete. The US boycott, encouraged for months by some members of Congress and rights advocacy groups, comes despite an effort to stabilise ties, with a video meeting last month between US President Joe Biden and China's leader Xi Jinping.
China opposes the boycott and would take "resolute countermeasures", foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular media briefing in Beijing on Tuesday. "The United States will pay a price for its mistaken acts," he said, without giving details. "Let's all wait and see."
A boycott of Beijing Olympics breaches human rights
As athletes gear up for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, so-called human rights activists are beating the drum to boycott the event, urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone or relocate the Games. The anti-China pioneers are seizing every single chance to discredit China. This time, they have turned to the Olympic Games, packaging a Western political campaign against the communist country into human rights concerns. Straining every nerve to politicize the sports event, these human rights activists are blatantly breaching human rights themselves.
The practice of sports is a human right. "Beijing will do an excellent job, 100 days can't wait" is how Kate Caithness, president of the World Curling Federation, reacted at the start of the 100-day countdown to the Games, as reported by Xinhua. Her remarks epitomize the anticipation of athletes and sports officials in the majority of countries. "It is thrilling to know the next Games [in Beijing] are right around the corner," Yang Yang, a two-time gold medalist in short track speed skating, told the IOC.
For many athletes, the Olympic Games are about their dreams to make their presence felt on the Olympic stage for which they have trained for years, hoping to sing their national anthems under their countries' flags. A boycott on the 2022 event is thus against the will of the athletes, meaning their hard work would not be compensated, and they would not even have a chance to compete, let alone win a medal.
How Many Countries Will Follow the U.S. Boycott of Beijing's Olympics?
Protesters have called for a boycott of the event
Neither President Joe Biden nor other U.S. officials are going, but the Russian leader might. New Zealand says it decided months ago that its diplomats would not be attending. On Wednesday, Australia said its officials would be staying home, too. Political leaders of other nations are expected to bow out, too, whether they announce an explicit reason or not.
In less than two months, China will open the 24th Winter Olympics in Beijing under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic and now also a diplomatic boycott intended to protest the host country’s repressive policies. The White House announcement on Monday that it would send no official delegation prompted anger in Beijing, where Chinese officials on Tuesday once again vowed to retaliate.
“This will only make people see the sinister intentions of the American side and will only make the American side lose more morality and credibility,” said a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zhao Lijian.
Australia joins US diplomatic boycott
Australia and China are big trading partners but have disagreed on a number of important political issues
Australia has said it will join the US in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the decision was in response to "human rights abuses" in China's Xinjiang province and "many other issues that Australia has consistently raised". Athletes would still attend, he added.
China has condemned the US announcement and threatened to retaliate, without giving further details. On Monday, the US said it would not send diplomats to the Games in Beijing over concerns about China's human rights record.
Mr Morrison said it was "no surprise" that Australia had joined the boycott, given relations with China had deteriorated in recent years. "I'm doing it because it's in Australia's national interest," he said on Wednesday. "It's the right thing to do." He accused China of rejecting opportunities to improve relations, insisting Australia remained open to bilateral talks.
Canada, U.K. and Australia join U.S. in diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics
Canada will join the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights concerns, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday. The announcement came after the White House, the Australian government and the UK government confirmed diplomatic boycotts of the Winter Games in February to protest Chinese human rights abuses. China has vowed to react with "firm countermeasures."
Trudeau said his government has been in talks with allies about it in recent months. "We are extremely concerned by the repeated human rights violations by the Chinese government," Trudeau said. "They should not be surprised we will not be sending any diplomatic representation."
The diplomatic moves by Canada, the U.S., Britain and Australia do not affect their athletes' ability to compete in the games.
UK, Canada join diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Games
The United States was the first to announce the boycott this week, saying on Nov 6 that its government officials would not attend February's Beijing Olympics because of China's human rights "atrocities"
Canada joined Australia, Britain and the United States (US) in a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing on Wednesday (Dec 8), with China calling the boycotts "political posturing" and a smear campaign.
The United States was the first to announce the boycott this week, saying on Monday that its government officials would not attend February's Beijing Olympics because of China's human rights "atrocities", weeks after talks aimed at easing tense relations between the world's two largest economies. China on Tuesday said the United States would "pay a price" for its decision and warned of countermeasures but gave no details. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sought to play down the growing diplomatic boycott.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Beijing would be aware of long-standing Western concerns about human rights in China. "(So) it shouldn't be a surprise that we decided not to send diplomatic representation."
Canada, the U.K. and others join Biden’s diplomatic boycott, but it’s not enough
In ordering a diplomatic boycott, but not an athletic boycott, of the Beijing Winter Olympics, U.S. President Joe Biden effectively pulled his goalie from the net.
China and the United States continue to face off over how “people and economies should be governed.” Following a virtual summit, Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping expressed longstanding grievances against each other. In protest of an “ongoing genocide” in Xinjiang amid other human rights abuses by Beijing, Biden’s diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Olympic Games is mostly a half measure that will annoy Beijing and could put U.S. athletes at risk.
Within a day of Biden’s announcement, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia followed suit with the same half-measured stance.
France will not boycott, says minister, but others seek a united EU front
The French education minister says his country will not stage any boycott against the Beijing Winter Olympics. France’s foreign minister would like to see a united EU front on a boycott. Photo: EPA-EFE
However, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Paris should take a common stand with other European Union countries on a possible diplomatic boycott.
Le Drian, who held a joint news conference with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Paris on Thursday, spoke soon after French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said France would not joint the boycott initiated by the United States.
France rebuffs US campaign
China has warned Western nations they would 'pay the price' for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics (AFP/Noel Celis)
China warned Western nations on Thursday that they would "pay the price" for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Washington unveiled its decision not to send a diplomatic delegation earlier in the week, saying it was prompted by widespread rights abuses by China and what it sees as a "genocide" against the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.
Australia, Britain and Canada followed suit in a flurry of diplomatic bonhomie on Wednesday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on the other hand, will attend, his spokesman said Thursday. The boycott stops short of not sending athletes to the February Games but nonetheless infuriated Beijing, which hinted at retaliation on Thursday.
"The US, Australia, Britain and Canada's use of the Olympic platform for political manipulation is unpopular and self-isolating, and they will inevitably pay the price for their wrongdoing," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters. Soon afterward Beijing received welcome news from Paris, as Education and Sports Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said France will not join the boycott.
Australia joins US diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics
Protesters in Sydney call on the Australian government to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over China's human rights record
Australia will not send officials to the upcoming winter Olympics in Beijing, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday, joining a US diplomatic boycott of the event.
Canberra's decision comes amid "disagreement" with China over a slew of issues, from Australia's foreign interference laws to a recent decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, Morrison said. He also cited human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region and Beijing's ongoing freeze on ministerial contact with Canberra.
"Australia will not step back from the strong position we've had standing up for Australia's interests, and obviously it is of no surprise that we wouldn't be sending Australian officials to those Games," he said. The decision, which stopped short of preventing athletes from attending the 2022 Olympics, comes a day after the United States announced its diplomatic boycott.
New Zealand diplomats to skip Beijing Olympics
New Zealand will not be sending diplomatic representatives at a ministerial level to the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said, citing COVID-19 as the reason.
New Zealand explains why it won’t send diplomats to Beijing Olympics
Workers assemble the Olympic rings at a skiing venue for the Winter Olympics, in Zhangjiakou, China, November 20, 2021. © Reuters / Thomas Pete
New Zealand will not send its diplomats to the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, the country’s deputy prime minister said, explaining that the move is “mostly” motivated by Covid-19 hours after the US declared its own boycott.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson told local media on Tuesday that diplomatic representatives from the island would not attend the Olympics, set for February, noting that decision was conveyed to Beijing back in October. “We’ve already made clear that we won’t be there at a ministerial level,” Robertson told Television New Zealand. “We made that clear to China I think in October, and so for us that’s a decision we’ve already made.”
He added that the move was driven by a “range of factors… mostly due to Covid,” but nonetheless stated “we’ve made clear to China on numerous occasions our concerns about human rights issues.” By all indications, Kiwi athletes will still compete in the Olympics and only officials will remain home. Earlier on Monday, the US government similarly announced that it would boycott the games, but cited alleged “crimes against humanity” and rights abuses committed by Beijing, rather than dangers linked to the pandemic.
Kremlin criticizes U.S. 'diplomatic boycott' of Beijing Winter Olympics
The Kremlin on Tuesday criticized the U.S. "diplomatic boycott" of the Beijing Winter Olympics, saying that the Games should be "free of politics."
"It's hard to say how much of a boycott this is, because after all, the Olympics are being held in rather tough conditions associated with pandemic restrictions," Sputnik news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.
The most important thing is that the issue should not concern the athletes, he told reporters.
Britain considering ministerial boycott of 2022 Beijing Olympics: The Telegraph
Both the US and Australia have announced diplomatic boycotts of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. PHOTO: AFP
Britain is considering approving limited government attendance at the Beijing Olympics that would stop short of a full diplomatic boycott, The Telegraph reported on Wednesday (Dec 8). An outright ban on ministerial and diplomatic representation at the Winter Games remains a possibility, the report said.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that Britain had not yet decided on whether government representatives would attend the Beijing Winter Olympics next year. According to the newspaper, one option under consideration for ministers is to skip the Games, but for Ms Caroline Wilson, the country's ambassador to China, to attend.
An outright diplomatic boycott is supported in other quarters of government and is heavily backed by China hawks in Parliament, the report added. On Tuesday, Australia announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The United States on Monday said its government officials will boycott the Beijing Olympics because of China's human rights "atrocities".
Why Britain MUST boycott China's propaganda Olympics
"The Chinese Communist Party will try to hide its crimes behind the guise that sport is apolitical" (Image: Getty)
But with the Chinese Communist Party’s abysmal record on human rights in Xinjiang, assault on Hong Kong’s democratic freedoms and hostility towards Taiwan, the UK and other likeminded nations would be wrong to legitimise the Communist Party’s Propaganda Games. China will use the Olympics to launder its reputation on the world stage. Visitors arriving in Beijing will be treated to a carefully choreographed display of the country. They will lend international legitimacy to the Chinese Communist Party’s authoritarian and repressive agenda.
And while the Olympics take place, so too will the continued genocide in Xinjiang. The Chinese Communist Party is currently orchestrating the largest mass incarceration of a minority population in the world. There has been evidence of torture, rape, and forced labour. For those who are not locked up in detention centres, mass surveillance programmes monitor their every move. We know that Uyghur families have been separated, children taken hostage by the Chinese state and women forcibly sterilised.
We also know that this repression is coordinated from the highest office of the Communist Party. President Xi laid the groundwork for Xinjiang in 2014, calling for a policy of “absolutely no mercy”.
France seeking EU response after US Olympics boycott
France said Tuesday it would seek a coordinated EU response after the United States announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
The decision, which stopped short of preventing athletes from attending, comes after Washington spent months wrangling over what position to take on the Games, which begin in February. The decision was taken over what the United States termed China's "genocide" of the Uyghur minority and other human rights abuses.
France said it was examining the issue after the announcement. "We have taken note of the American decision," an official in President Emmanuel Macron's office told AFP. "We will coordinate at the European level."
U.S. announces diplomatic boycott of Being Olympics. Will Canada be next?
CBC Sports’ Anastasia Bucsis is joined by CBC News Senior Parliamentary reporter David Cochrane, to break down what exactly a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics will look like and if Canada will be one of the next countries to follow suit.
Canada considers joining U.S. diplomatic boycott of Olympics
The international politics encircling the Beijing Olympics intensified Monday when the United States announced it would stage a “diplomatic boycott” of the Games to protest China’s human rights abuses — a move the authoritarian regime condemned as an “outright political provocation.” Canada is considering a similar boycott, but Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge said moments after the U.S. announcement that the Liberal administration in Ottawa had not yet decided whether to mirror the American action and refrain from sending government officials to the upcoming Winter Olympics in the Chinese capital.
In a brief statement to reporters outside the House of Commons, St-Onge said the government is still discussing the matter with all of Canada’s “traditional” allies, though she did not specify which ones. She also walked away without answering questions about what factors Ottawa is weighing as it considers whether to join the Americans to voice opposition to Chinese government rights abuses.
That includes a crackdown on democratic freedoms in Hong Kong, as well as government oppression of Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region that the House of Commons has declared a “genocide.” “We are, of course, very preoccupied with the violations of human rights in China,” said St-Onge. “It’s not a decision that we’re going to take lightly, and as soon as we have made the decision we will communicate it to you.”
Should Canada stage a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics?
Rob Oliphant, parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, is asked if Canada will follow the United States' lead and stage a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Japan will make its own decision on Beijing Olympic participation, says PM Kishida
Japan will make its own decision on whether to send diplomatic representatives to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday, after news that the United States had decided not to send its officials.
Japan will consider a number of factors when it decides, including the purpose of the Olympics, the diplomatic situation, and Japan's own national interest, Kishida said.
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers his policy speech at the start of an extraordinary session of the lower house of the parliament, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Tokyo, Japan December 6, 2021.
'National interests' first: Japan weighs stance as U.S. plans Beijing Olympic boycott
Protesters hold up placards and banners as they attend a demonstration in Sydney in June to call on the Australian government to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over China's human rights record. | AFP-JIJI
After months of deliberation, the White House has decided not to send government officials to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over China's human rights "atrocities" — leaving Japan to weigh whether to follow suit and risk angering its neighbor and top trading partner.
“The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, given the PRC’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at a news conference in Washington on Monday.
Psaki said that going ahead with U.S. diplomatic or official representation would effectively treat the Beijing Games, which are due to start on Feb. 4, “as business as usual” despite China’s “egregious human rights abuses and atrocities" in its far-west Xinjiang region. “We simply can't do that," Psaki said. American athletes will still be allowed to participate in the Olympics.
Korea faces tougher dilemma over Olympics, peace initiative
Seoul advised to build 'sustainable foreign policy platform'
South Korea, long sandwiched between the United States and China amid their flaring tensions, finds itself newly cornered into a choice between the two powerhouses, with the fate of the outgoing Moon Jae-in administration's last-ditch peace initiative lying in their hands.
South Korea has been continuing a difficult balancing act, trying to juggle economic ties with China and its much-needed security alliance with the U.S. In addition, given Seoul needs help from both Washington and Beijing to formally declare an end to the Korean War, the intensifying strategic competition between them is further thrusting the South Korean government into a dilemma.
Only three weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a virtual summit, Nov. 15, Washington has beaten Beijing to the punch. On Monday (local time), the U.S. announced that it will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 due to China's ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses ― although its athletes will compete in the quadrennial event.
Moon faces dilemma over Beijing Olympics boycott
US boycott deepens Moon’s concerns over diplomatic stance, end-of-war declaration
The US decision to have its diplomats boycott the 2022 Beijing Olympics is posing a dilemma for South Korea, as Washington could prod allies to follow suit, while Seoul hopes to use the games as an opportunity to restart dialogue with Pyongyang.
Amid the struggle between the two global superpowers, South Korea has taken an ambiguous diplomatic position, as it values both its security alliance with the US and its economic ties with China. But with Washington’s recent announcement, South Korea is increasingly in a position where it may have to choose a side. The situation could also jeopardize President Moon Jae-in’s plan to use the global sports event as a chance to restart the peace process on the Korean Peninsula and declare a formal end to the Korean War, together with the leaders of North Korea, the US and China.
Earlier, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a media interview that the US had consulted allies about a “shared approach” to the Beijing Games. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez called on US allies to “share our values to join with the United States in this diplomatic boycott.” US President Joe Biden is expected to urge the country’s allies to join the boycott this week during an upcoming democracy summit. The meeting aims to keep China in check, since Biden defines the Chinese government as an authoritarian regime, and more than 110 participating countries are likely to discuss boycotting the Beijing Winter Olympics. Moon plans to attend the event.
Why China was ready with short guest list for Beijing Winter Olympics long before US diplomatic boycott
Long before Washington announced its diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Beijing had already been scaling back invitations in anticipation of low attendance by world leaders.
That was because China feels it has nothing left to prove on hosting a spectacular international athletics event, according to Chinese analysts.
“With this Winter Olympics, China has not been sending invitations like it did in 2008,” said Zhao Kejin, an international relations expert with Tsinghua University, referring to the Summer Games 13 years ago that marked the first time the country had hosted the Games.
US announces diplomatic boycott of Winter Olympic Games in Beijing
American athletes will not be affected and can still compete in the Games, which start on Feb 4. PHOTO: REUTERS
The US will not send officials to the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing next year in the light of China's human rights abuses in Xinjiang and elsewhere, the White House said on Monday (Dec 6).
"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 and other human rights abuses," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki, using the People's Republic of China's formal name.
American athletes will not be affected and can still compete in the Games, which start on Feb 4. "The athletes on Team USA have our full support. We will be behind them 100 per cent as we cheer them on from home. We will not be contributing to the fanfare of the Games," said Ms Psaki. She said that sending US diplomatic or official representation "would treat these Games as business as usual, in the face of the PRC's egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang, and we simply cannot do that".
US 'diplomatic boycott' a self-directed political farce: Chinese UN mission
The so-called "diplomatic boycott" by the U.S. is a self-directed political farce, China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations declared on Monday, adding that the success of the Games does not rely on the attendance of a handful of government officials from certain countries.
A Chinese UN mission spokesperson made the remark in response to the Biden administration's announcement that U.S. government officials will not attend the Beijing Winter Olympics in February.
"The U.S. decision reflects its Cold War mentality. It only seeks to politicize sports, create divisions and provoke confrontation," the spokesperson added.
US Leaders Speak With Forked Tongue
The decision by US President Joe Biden to order a diplomatic boycott of China’s Winter Olympics surely takes the gold medal in hypocrisy and duplicity. Only a few weeks ago, Biden held a video call with China’s President Xi Jinping in which the two leaders vowed to improve bilateral relations and reduce dangerous tensions.
Telling Beijing now that it will not be sending an official US delegation to celebrate the games when they open in February is tantamount to the Biden administration poking China in the eye. All the more so because of the stated reason being due to US concerns about China’s human rights and allegations of genocide against the minority Uighur population. The US claims of genocide were also made by the previous Trump administration and his thuggish Secretary of State Mike Pompeo – the ex-CIA chief who boasted about “lying and cheating all the time”.
In any case, Washington’s hyperbolic claims are unsubstantiated and rely on dubious “investigations” by right-wing, anti-China groups who are no doubt politicised by US intelligence agencies. Nevertheless, such ropey accusations have been used to justify American sanctions on China’s economy as well as ramping up US militaristic threats.
Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022
5 Things You Don't Know About XINJIANG
In recent years, my hometown Xinjiang somehow has become one of the most controversial topics on internet. From Concentration Camps to Re-education Camps, from Uyghur Forced Labor to Uyghur Genocide, it seems to me that some Western Medias such as BBC and "China Experts" like Adrian Zenz, they know my hometown Xinjiang way better than I do.
However, in my humble view, instead of letting you realize the real situation in Xinjiang and the reasons behind it, what they are actually doing is making headlines by exaggerating, fabricating and storytelling.
In this video, I share with you 5 things you may not know about XINJIANG, I believe it will give you some clues in order to see the whole picture of Xinjiang issue.
Beijing Winter Olympics 2022
The 2022 Winter Olympics (Chinese: 二〇二二年冬季奥林匹克运动会; pinyin: Èr Líng Èr'èr Nián Dōngjì Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì), officially the XXIV Olympic Winter Games (Chinese: 第二十四届冬季奥林匹克运动会; pinyin: Dì Èrshísì Jiè Dōngjì Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì) and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (Chinese: 北京二〇二二; pinyin: Běijīng Èr Líng Èr'èr), are an upcoming international winter multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing and towns in the neighboring Hebei province in the People's Republic of China.
Beijing was elected as host city in July 2015 at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur. The 2022 Winter Olympics will be the first Winter Olympics in China, the last of three consecutive Olympics to be held in East Asia (after the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan), and the second overall Olympics to be held in China, after the 2008 Summer Olympics also in Beijing. For the first time, the Winter Olympics will be hosted by a city that previously hosted the Summer Olympics; four existing indoor venues that were originally constructed for the 2008 Games, as well as the Beijing National Stadium (which will host the opening and closing ceremonies), will be used. Concerns and controversies at the 2022 Winter Olympics have included proposed boycotts.
The bidding calendar was announced by the IOC (International Olympic Committee) in October 2012, with the application deadline set for 14 November 2013. The IOC Executive Board reviewed the bids from all applicant cities on 7 July 2014 and selected three cities, Oslo (Norway), Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Beijing (China), as the final candidates. Several Olympic committees withdrew their applications during the bidding process, citing the high costs or the lack of local support and funding for hosting the Games.
Beijing 2022 Opening and Closing Ceremonies
The Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games represent the official start - and end - of an Olympic Games. Through music, song, dance and fireworks, the ceremonies invite people to discover the culture of the country in which the Games are taking place.
On 4 February 2022, almost 14 years on from the iconic spectacles of the 2008 summer ceremonies, Beijing’s National Stadium (also known as the Bird’s Nest) will once again stage an Olympic Opening Ceremony; this time, for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. After two weeks of competition, Beijing 2022 will come to an end with the Closing Ceremony (which will also take place at the Bird’s Nest), at which point the Olympic flag will be passed on to the Mayors of the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina-D’Ampezzo, the hosts of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
The last five medals are awarded on the final day of the Games, before the Closing Ceremony in the evening. In the afternoon, the figure skaters get one final outing on the ice in the exhibition gala (12:00–14:30). The Closing Ceremony will be held on 20 February 2022, Time: 8 p.m. (China Standard Time).
The Great Wall of China 萬里長城
The Great Wall of China was not impenetrable, although it did help defend against attacks
The Great Wall of China — built over the course of two millennia to bolster China's northern frontier — is made of several overlapping walls that run parallel to each other. Collectively, they stretch stretch over 13,000 miles (21,000 kilometers) — more than half the circumference of Earth. But did these extensive walls, with an average height of 25.6 feet (7.8 meters), actually protect China against the outside world?
The answer largely depends on how you define the wall's successes and failures. The Chinese built the wall as a masterpiece of defensive architecture, and while Chinese troops controlling these barriers certainly helped to thwart the attacks of some would-be invaders, the Great Wall was by no means impenetrable. In other words, sometimes it helped protect China, and other times it didn't. On the other hand, it was also a display of imperial China's wealth, architectural expertise and engineering prowess. On this front, it undoubtedly succeeded and continues to do so, as the ruling Communist Party has adopted the wall as a patriotic symbol.
The Chinese began building walls in the country's far north in about 700 B.C., but it wasn't until Qin Shi Huang unified China's warring states to become the first emperor in 221 B.C. that the Great Wall project got underway in earnest. He directed peasants to connect preexisting forts to protect his burgeoning empire against the various nomadic tribes of the Mongolian region, according to Britannica. Later emperors further extended and fortified the wall, adding beacon towers, which could be lit to send messages about forthcoming raids. By the 1300s, the wall had begun to resemble what it looks like today.
