Political boycott of the Olympics: US “sinister intentions” anger China

Political boycott of the Olympics
US “sinister intentions” anger China

The US will boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics. Not sporty, but political. After China initially reacted calmly, there is now a very critical opinion from the host. The US wanted to hinder the games for “ideological reasons”.

China has sharply criticized the US diplomatic boycott of the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The announcement is a violation of “political neutrality in sport,” said a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The US attempt to obstruct the Games “out of ideological prejudice based on lies and rumors will only expose its sinister intentions”.

The US government announced on Monday that it would boycott the Olympic Games because of human rights violations in China. According to the White House, no government officials will be sent to the February games. US athletes are allowed to participate.

“The Chinese are relieved”

In an initial reaction to the decision, the spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington said on Twitter that the boycott would have no effect on the games and that “nobody would care whether these people come or not”. The Chinese state tabloid Global Times wrote on Twitter: “To be honest, the Chinese are relieved by this news, because the fewer US officials there, the fewer viruses are brought in.”

Conservative US politicians welcomed the decision from the White House. Former US Secretary of State under President Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo, called for a complete boycott of the Olympic Games. The human rights activist and China director of Human Rights Watch, Sophie Richardson, praised US President Joe Biden for the move. However, she called for further internationally coordinated measures to go beyond the boycott in order to bring those “responsible” for the human rights violations in China “to account”.

A spokeswoman for the White House had justified the move with the “genocide and crimes against humanity” committed against the Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang province. According to human rights organizations and researchers, more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims are imprisoned in hundreds of detention camps in Xinjiang.

According to the activists, they are being forced to give up their religion, culture and language and in some cases they are also being mistreated. Uighurs in exile also accuse Beijing of murders, abductions, torture and forced sterilization.

DOSB strongly contradicts Baerbock

There is also approval from Germany: The foreign policy spokesman for the Greens, Omid Nouripour, said on the RBB Inforadio that a political signal had to be sent: “I think what the Americans are doing is right because it is not possible to do one Athletes who have worked towards a goal for a lifetime are arrested for politics. Therefore it is necessary that the Games take place and that people go there, but with the massive human rights violations that we are witnessing there in China It is necessary to send a clear signal. What the Americans say that no members of the government take part is the right approach. I hope that Germany will join in. “

Thomas Weikert, the new President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), has criticized the designated Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock for her statement about a possible boycott of the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. “Ms. Baerbock should just leave the church in the village, I’ll make that very clear,” said Weikert on the Saturday after his election: “A boycott has never helped anyone. That would be really unfair to the athletes who are now like that have prepared for a long time. “

Last week, in an interview with the “taz”, Greens boss Baerbock approached the boycott issue. “When I see how China’s leadership deals with tennis player Peng Shuai or with the arrested citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, we should of course also take a closer look at the Olympic Games. There are different ways for governments to deal with them in the coming weeks certainly to be discussed. “

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