US Announces Diplomatic Boycott Of 2022 Winter Olympics

The US will not send any official government delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing as a statement against China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday. 

US athletes will still be allowed to compete in the Olympics, but the administration will not be sending government officials to the games. The same policy applies for the Paralympic Games, which are also taking place in Beijing. 

Psaki said in a White House briefing that they are looking to looking to send a “clear message” that the human rights abuses in China mean there cannot be “business as usual,”. 

The move marks an escalation of pressure by the US on China over allegations of forced labour and human rights abuses against the Uyghur population and other ethnic and religious minority groups in the western region of Xinjiang. 

The White House did not feel it was fair to penalize US athletes who have been training for years by holding an entire US boycott of the Olympics, similar to the one in 1980 when the US boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. 

Following the US announcement, New Zealand also confirmed that it too would not send a delegation. Other countries, including the UK and Australia, are said to be considering boycotts. 

The news comes just a few days after the WTA suspended all tournaments in China due to the safety concerns of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai.