SPORTS IN BRIEF — CHINA WARNS AGAINST OLYMPIC BOYCOTT •
BEIJING — China’s government warned Washington on Wednesday not to boycott next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing after the Biden administration said it was talking with allies about a joint approach to complaints of human rights abuses.
A Foreign Ministry spokesperson rejected accusations of abuses against ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang region. He warned of an unspecified “robust Chinese response” to a potential Olympics boycott.
“The politicization of sports will damage the spirit of the Olympic Charter and the interests of athletes from all countries,” said the spokesperson, Zhao Lijian. “The international community including the U.S. Olympic Committee will not accept it.”
Human rights groups are protesting China’s hosting of the games, due to start in February 2022. They have urged a boycott or other measures to call attention to accusations of Chinese abuses against Uyghurs, Tibetans and residents of Hong Kong.
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday suggested an Olympic boycott was among the possibilities, but a senior official said later a boycott has not been discussed.
Susanne Lyons, chair of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors, reiterated the organization’s opposition to boycotts at a media summit Wednesday.
“We at the USOPC oppose athlete boycotts because they’ve been shown to negatively impact athletes while not effectively addressing global issues in the past,” Lyons said. The committee doesn’t wish to “minimize the serious human rights issues that are happening in China,” but believes diplomats and trade and other government officials are better equipped to address such concerns and young athletes should not “be used as political pawns in these issues,” Lyons said. Susanne Lyons, chair of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors, reiterated the organization’s opposition to boycotts Wednesday.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that the White House is not looking at a boycott.
“We have not discussed, and are not discussing, any joint boycott with allies and partners,” she said.