United Kingdom, Australia and Canada join diplomatic boycott of 2022 Olympics

First change: 08/12/2021 – 21:03

Following the US announcement last Monday that it was ignored against the 2022 Winter Olympics official, other nations have joined the ranks, and some countries are still considering the possibility of doing so.

Australia is one of the countries that joined the boycott “for diplomatic reasons” following the announcement by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

“I do it because it’s in Australia’s national interest,” Morrison argued, adding that he was not surprised his country had taken that position “after relations with China broke down in recent years.”

Moreover, although the Australian government wanted to improve its relationship with the Asian giants and talk about their differences, “there is no impediment on our part to that happening, but the Chinese government has not consistently accepted those opportunities for us to meet.” He said.

He also announced that Australian athletes like the United States would be able to compete without any problems.

China retaliated. Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenpin said, “Australian government officials have not invited anyone to attend the Winter Olympics and no one cares if they come or not.”

Despite accusing Wang of “blindly following certain countries to confuse what is right and what is wrong”, he did not threaten to use “counter-measures” against Australia like the United States did, despite filing serious complaints with Canberra.

The UK is also taking a stand

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the UK would diplomatically boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics without sending any member of the British government to the global event.

“Actually the Winter Olympics in Beijing will be a diplomatic boycott. None of the ministers will come. What I can say in the House is that I do not think sports boycotts are prudent, that is the policy of the government.

The move comes in protest of China’s controversial record of human rights abuses in the northwestern provinces of Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Johnson added that although no such decision had been made in British politics against sporting events, he assured her that it was a move that his country should support: “I do not think boycotting sports is sensible; it is still government policy.”

It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.

China’s relations with the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia have plummeted since the three Western countries announced the formation of a strategic alliance in the Indo – Pacific region in September, allowing them to share more security capabilities and what it offers to Australia. Reactors that power its submarines.

Canada follows in the footsteps of the United States

In an effort to send a clear message, Canada also joined the US effort to take a political stand against China.

The Canadian prime minister made the announcement on Wednesday, explaining that Beijing needed to understand the West’s long-standing concern over allegations of human rights abuses in China and that it was “not surprising that we decided not to” for this reason. Send representation. Diplomat “.

“We announced today that we will not be sending diplomatic representation to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing this winter. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

Bilateral relations between Canada and China have been strained since the Xi Jinping government detained two Canadians in China in December 2018, which came very close to the arrest of Men Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies in Canada. Deportation request from the United States

With AP and Reuters