US is diplomatically boycotting the China Winter Olympics 2022. Why?

In response to the ongoing genocide of Uyghur Muslims occuring in China and the recent disappearance of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, the US has announced a 'diplomatic boycott' of the Winter Olympics being held in Beijing, China, in Feburary 2022. No official delegation would be sent to the Games by the US but athletes would be allowed to compete and they would have the US government's full support.

US STATEMENT: US President Joe Biden had announced last month that he was considering a diplomatic boycott, and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that the boycott will begin on December 6. Psaki said, "US diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC's [People's Republic of China] egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang, we simply can't do that."

While talking about the athletes, Psaki said that the US government did not think "it was the right step to penalise athletes who had been training for this moment". She explained that not sending an official US delegation to the 2022 Games would send out a clear message.

The boycott has bilateral support in the US. This means that both Republicans and Democrats have agreed to it, including senior legislators Republican Mitt Romney and the Democrat Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. 

CHINA'S RESPONSE: The Chinese embassy in Washington has responded with agitation and annoyance, calling this boycott 'political manipulation'. China's Washington embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Reuters, "No-one would care about whether these people come or not, and it has no impact whatsoever on the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics to be successfully held." He added that no formal invitation had been extended to US politicians and this boycott 'simply comes out of nowhere'. 

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in his regular press briefings, "I want to stress that the Winter Olympic Games is not a stage for political posturing and manipulation." Lijian also said that China would be resorting to countermeasures 'if the US is bent on having its own way'. The topic 'US diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics' has also been censored on China's Twitter-like platform, Weibo, as of now. 

FOREIGN RESPONSE: Canada's foreign ministry has said that it "remains deeply disturbed by the troubling reports of human rights violations in China" and is continuing to discuss the matter "with our partners and allies".

The Japanese and Australian governments have said that they were are also still considering their positions on the Games. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters, "We will consider matters such as the meaning of the Olympic Games and our diplomatic relations, and would like to make our own decision based on what is best for our national interest."

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson has said that NZ would not send any government officials. He cited Covid-19 as the primary reason 'but we’ve made clear to China on numerous occasions our concerns about human rights issues'. Lithuania has also announced that neither their President nor any of their ministers would attend the Games due to the trade and diplomatic hostilities they are facing from China.

Other than Russian President Vladimir Putin, no other major country has confirmed on their invitation to the 2022 Games in China.