WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden mentioned Thursday that the U.S. is contemplating a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic video games in Beijing to protest China’s therapy of its Uyghur Muslim minority.
Under a diplomatic boycott, American athletes would nonetheless take part within the video games, which start Feb. 4, 2022. But an official delegation of U.S. authorities officers wouldn’t attend.
The thought of a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing video games isn’t new. As early as April, a State Department spokesman mentioned the U.S. was in talks with key allies about methods to protest China’s human rights document on the Winter Olympics.
But Thursday marked the primary time Biden himself had confirmed {that a} diplomatic boycott was “something we’re considering.”
Biden gave the temporary reply in response to a direct query, earlier than rapidly pivoting to the following reporter. The alternate occurred throughout a gathering within the Oval Office with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that the announcement of a U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Beijing video games would seemingly happen earlier than the top of the month.
Human rights activists have lengthy referred to as for a worldwide boycott of the Beijing Olympics, which they’ve labeled the “Genocide Games.” They have additionally urged the International Olympic Committee to postpone or relocate the occasions.
But Western governments have typically balked on the thought of a full boycott of the video games, a transfer they regard as unfairly punishing athletes for the misdeeds dedicated by the host authorities.
Beijing has drawn worldwide condemnation for its “extensive program of repression” in opposition to members of its Uyghur Muslim minority ethnic group.
In March, the United States and its allies imposed sanctions on a number of officers in Xinjiang province, the standard homeland of the Uyghur individuals. Those sanctions stay in place.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has labeled the therapy of Uyghurs in China a “genocide,” however Biden has not used the phrase. Beijing denies that it violates Uyghurs’ human rights.
Biden’s remarks got here simply days after he held a extremely anticipated digital summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday night time. The summit produced little in the way in which of concrete outcomes, nonetheless.
A White House spokesman later confirmed that the Olympics didn’t come up throughout the assembly, which lasted a number of hours.
Disclosure: CNBC mother or father NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games by means of 2032.
