[ad_1]
Joe Biden has decided not to send a US government delegation to the Beijing Winter Olympics, in a diplomatic boycott designed to send a powerful message to China about the persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Jen Psaki, a press secretary at the White House, said the authorities would not send any officials to the game, which starts in February, due to “killings and civil cases” in Xinjiang. But he said the US Olympic team “has the full support” of the President and his officials.
The US has taken a strong stand on the situation in Xinjiang where more than 1m Uyghurs and other minors are being held in detention centers and used as forced laborers.
Antony Blinken, secretary of state, earlier this year followed Trump’s policy of describing the oppression of the Uyghurs as “mass murder”. Biden also raised the issue of Xinjiang with human rights at a regular meeting with President Xi Jinping last month.
The Chinese ambassador to Washington has criticized the move, saying China has not issued any invitation to participate in the Winter Games.
A spokesman for the ambassador’s office, Liu Pengyu, stated: “Such a protest is politically motivated and extremely disruptive to the Olympic spirit.” “No one cares whether these people come or not, and it does not matter at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.”
Gregory Meeks, Democrat head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has called on other countries to join the strike at Biden.
“We must speak with one voice and ensure that silence is not a way for any country, no matter how powerful, to seriously undermine human rights,” Meeks said.
“The Biden government has declared a boycott of Beijing Winter 2022 and is a very important part of the Chinese government’s crackdown on the people of Uyghur and other parts of Turkic,” said Sophie Richardson, China’s director of Human Rights Watch.
“We are very grateful for the unwavering support of the president and his administration and we know he will keep us entertained at home this winter,” said Sarah Hirshland, chief of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
In recent months, the White House has tried to do more with Beijing, which happened in November at the first meeting between Biden and Xi. During the video, Biden told Xi that he needed to create a “defense” to ensure that competition between the authorities “did not continue. conflict”.
Biden wants to find ways to reduce conflicts over issues such as Taiwan where Chinese troops have been developing large and frequent coming entry into the “flight safety identification area”. The leaders also agreed on a nuclear deal to discuss nuclear issues.
But the US president has insisted he will not stop criticizing China for what is happening in Xinjiang. Beijing has denied that it is harassing the Uyghurs and says the Xinjiang community center is a training camp.
The White House has also asked Beijing to report back Peng Shuai, a Chinese tennis player who accused a Communist party official of raping a woman.
Peng disappeared from public view after saying this, and he appeared a few weeks later in several videos, including those showing him meeting Chinese tennis players. Critics say that since he did not speak for himself, it appears that the image was created by the Chinese government, which criticized his remarks about him on television.
Wendy Sherman, China’s deputy secretary general and ambassador to China, last month said she was “deeply concerned” and called on Beijing to “provide an independent, credible proof of his whereabouts”.
The International Olympic Committee has taken place two video phones and Peng and insisted he was fine. Opponents have criticized the agency for helping the Chinese government ban Peng, saying the group does not know if he was forced to make phone calls.
A spokesman for the IOC stated: “The presence of government officials and ambassadors is a matter for personal decision, which the IOC respects very much in politics. At the same time, the announcement also makes it clear that the Olympic Games and the participation of athletes are non-political and we welcome this. ”
The Chinese ambassador to Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
Additional reports of Sara Germano
Follow Demetri Sevastopulo on Twitter
[ad_2]
Source link
