Key Takeaways:
- On Monday, the Biden administration announced that US officials would not attend the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
- Citing China’s promise of unspecified “countermeasures” in response to any such diplomatic boycott.
Those calling for a boycott are “grandstanding” or should stop “so as not to affect the dialogue and cooperation between China also the United States in important areas,” said Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry. “If the United States persists in obstinately adhering to its course, China will take resolute countermeasures,” he said at a press conference.
Last month, US President Joe Biden said he was considering a diplomatic boycott to protest China’s human rights record, including what Washington calls genocide against minority Muslims.
The United States’ athletes would compete in the games despite the boycott. The United States is set to host the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, raising how China will respond in the interim. Beijing claims to oppose the politicization of sports, but it has previously punished American sports leagues, including the National Basketball Association, for crossing its political red lines.
The Hong Kong government has warned the Wall Street Journal that it may have broken the law by publishing an editorial stating that casting blank ballots was one of the “last ways” for residents to express their dissatisfaction.
Source: Hindustantimes News
Get Northwest Territories and Canada’s top News, Latest News, and other news of the world only at the most trustable news website of Canada nwweek.com
