By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Dec. 8: A day after the US announced its diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympic games, Britain, Australia and Scotland have followed suit to hold the Chinese government accountable for its deteriorating human rights record. The administrations have decided to not send any diplomatic or official representation at the foremost sports event to show their disapproval of China’s hosting the “Genocide Games”.
PM Boris Johnson announced, “There will be effectively a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, no ministers are expected to attend and no officials,” adding that he does not think sporting boycotts are sensible, which remains the policy of the government. Both Australia and Scotland had already announced official boycotts earlier on Wednesday.
Australian PM Scott Morrison said that their athletes will be allowed to attend the Olympics in February, but official representatives will stay home as a form of protest. Morrison cited human rights abuses in Xinjiang as one of the issues resulting in their boycott among others, “I am very … happy to talk to the Chinese government about these issues, and there has been no obstacle to that occurring on our side but the Chinese government has consistently not taken those opportunities to meet with us about those issues.”
The Chinese embassy in Canberra stated that Australia alone is responsible for the deteriorating relationship between the two, “As we all know, the blame for the current predicament of China-Australia relations lies squarely on the Australian side.” However, Morrison also wished IOC the best for the Winter Games. “I very much separate the issues of sport and the issues that are between two governments … Australia will not step back from the strong position it’s had, standing up for Australians’ interests,” he further remarked.
Also, Scotland’s sports minister Maree Todd confirmed the government’s position and said it continued to be “deeply concerned” by human rights abuses in China. “Neither Scottish ministers nor Scottish Government officials have any plans to attend the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics,” she told the press. The government’s position was clarified following a written question from Green MSP Ross Greer, co-chair of the cross-party group on Tibet at Holyrood.
“The absence of any Scottish government representatives at the Games sends a clear signal that we will not turn a blind eye to the Chinese government’s crimes against the Tibetan and Uyghur Peoples,” CPGT Co-chair applauded the decision. Activists are celebrating the win after a year-long campaign by over a hundred rights groups who continue to demand similar boycotts by other countries.
