As the voices of boycotting the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are rising, the Chinese Foreign Ministry invited more than 30 countries, including Russia, France, Germany and Italy, to visit the Winter Olympics site in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province from 13 to 14, with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi personally hosting the reception, but the U.S., U.K. and Australia were not represented.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry website reported that at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Beijing Winter Olympic Organizing Committee, ambassadors or senior diplomats from more than 30 countries, including Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia, went to Zhangjiakou, but no mention was made of ambassadorial representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Wang Yi claimed at the reception that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the preparatory work for the Beijing Winter Olympics, with President Xi Jinping personally concerned about guidance and IOC President Bach repeatedly expressing his confidence and support; the preparatory work is now moving forward in an orderly manner. Wang Yi stressed that he believes that the Beijing Winter Olympics will become a bridge across ideologies and civilizations, and that China will make the trip worthwhile for athletes from all over the world.
The Beijing Winter Olympics are scheduled to open next February, but global human rights groups and dignitaries have called for a boycott of the games on the grounds that China is oppressing human rights. Earlier this month, 180 human rights organizations around the world issued an open letter criticizing China for its “one of the worst human rights situations in the world” as the human rights situation has deteriorated rapidly in recent years. The Washington Post reported earlier, citing sources, that diplomats from the Biden administration have begun reaching out to allied countries to discuss how to respond to the Winter Olympics.
Republican U.S. Senator Rick Scott of Florida and others have also proposed a call for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to cancel Beijing’s hosting rights for the 2022 Winter Olympics and hold them in another country, alleging that Beijing is pressuring Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Other options include a diplomatic boycott, which some British politicians have indicated support for, or a consumer boycott of Beijing’s Winter Olympics sponsors, and public criticism of Beijing’s crackdown on Uyghurs in Xinjiang and dissidents in Hong Kong by athletes from various countries.
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