A figure with the Olympic rings in Beijing’s Shougang Park
Image: dpa
Australia, Great Britain and Canada are following the example of Washington and announcing a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games in Beijing. Germany’s new government wants to coordinate with the EU partners first.
NAfter the announcement of a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China warned four western countries of the consequences. The United States, Australia, Great Britain and Canada “will inevitably pay the price for their wrongdoing,” said Beijing State Department spokesman Wang Wenbin on Thursday. He denounced the “use of the Olympic platform for political manipulation”.
Washington announced on Monday that it would not send government officials to the Olympic Games in February because of human rights violations in China. American athletes should, however, take part in the major event. Canada, Britain and Australia joined the diplomatic boycott on Wednesday. Due to the strict quarantine regulations, however, it was unlikely that high-ranking foreign guests would travel to the games anyway.
The traffic light government of the new Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has so far kept a low profile on the issue. During a visit to Paris on Thursday, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) said that Germany would decide together with its European partners on a possible diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games in Beijing. Scholz had previously announced close coordination “with partners in Europe and the world”.
Reports of serious human rights violations, including those against the Muslim Uyghur minority in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, have long caused diplomatic tensions between the West and Beijing.
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