Britain won’t send officials to Winter Games
U.K. joins diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics as protest.
LONDON — Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday that no British government minister will attend the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, calling it “effectively” a diplomatic boycott.
Johnson was asked in the House of Commons whether Britain would join the United States, Australia and Lithuania in a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games over Beijing’s human rights record.
He said he opposed boycotts involving athletes, but Britain would, in effect, be boycotting the Olympics diplomatically.
“There will be effectively a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing,” Johnson told lawmakers. “No ministers are expected to attend and no officials.
“The government has no hesitation in raising these issues with China, as I did with President Xi the last time I talked to him,” he added, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The White House confirmed Monday that it was staging a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing to protest Chinese human rights abuses. China has vowed to react with “firm countermeasures.”
Australia announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Games earlier Wednesday. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was “in Australia’s national interest,” and referred to the worsening relations between his country and China — including a spat over Australia’s decision to acquire nuclearpowered submarines — as well as human rights concerns.
Western governments, including the U.S., Australia and Britain, have increasingly criticized Beijing for abuses against its Uyghur minority in the northwest province of Xinjiang, which some have called tantamount to genocide. They have also spoken out against Beijing’s suppression of democratic protests in Hong Kong. Rights groups have called for a full-blown boycott of the Winter Games.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether Britain’s royal family could still attend the 2022 Games. Princess Anne is president of the British Olympic Assn.