White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says no members of the Biden administration will attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
During a press briefing on Monday, Psaki said, “The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games given the PRC’s ongoing genocides and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses.”
“The athletes on Team USA have our full support. We will be behind them 100% as we cheer them on from home. We will not be contributing to the fanfare of the games,” she added.
Watch the video below:
WH Press Sec. Jen Psaki confirms a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, given China's "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity."
— The Recount (@therecount) December 6, 2021
She adds: "The athletes on Team USA have our full support. We will be behind them 100% as we cheer them on from home." pic.twitter.com/qLVTQGqgHx
As the BBC notes, “China has been accused of committing crimes against humanity and possibly genocide against the Uyghur population and other mostly-Muslim ethnic groups in the north-western region of Xinjiang.”
“Human rights groups believe China has detained more than one million Uyghurs against their will over the past few years in a large network of what the state calls ‘re-education camps,’ and sentenced hundreds of thousands to prison terms,” it adds.
Evidence has also surfaced that Uyghurs have been subjected to forced labor and forced sterilization.
On the last day of the Trump administration, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that China was carrying out a genocide against the Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) praised the Biden administration’s decision in a tweet. He wrote, “The Administration is right to refuse diplomatic presence at the Beijing Olympics: America will not turn a blind eye to China’s predation, persecution, and genocide.”
The Administration is right to refuse diplomatic presence at the Beijing Olympics: America will not turn a blind eye to China’s predation, persecution, and genocide.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) December 6, 2021
Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called for a “complete and total boycott” of the Olympics.
China is committing genocide.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) December 6, 2021
We need a complete and total boycott of the Beijing Olympics.
Not a half measure.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reacted in a statement, “While we must support and celebrate our athletes, America – and the world – cannot give our official imprimatur to these games or proceed as if there is nothing wrong with holding the Olympics in a country perpetrating genocide and mass human rights violations.”
“Allowing a country notorious for its appalling human rights record to host the Olympics makes a mockery of the Olympic Charter, which states that the Games should seek to foster ‘respect for universal and fundamental ethical principles,'” she continued.
Finally, she said, “As I noted when I called for a diplomatic boycott last May, the last three decades of Beijing’s abusive and repressive actions show that the international community can no longer give Beijing a blank check and hope that its behavior will simply change. “
