American athletes but no diplomatic representatives.
The United States announced a diplomatic boycott of the Olympic Winter Games organized in 2022 by Beijing (China).
By being present, “the American diplomatic representation would treat these Games as if nothing had happened, despite the gross human rights violations and China's atrocities in Xinjiang.
And we just can't do that, ”said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
China had warned earlier on Monday that it would take "countermeasures" if the United States called for such a boycott, calling it "bluster".
The International Olympic Committee for its part declared to “respect” the American decision.
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For months, the US government had been looking for the best way to position itself with regard to the Winter Games, organized from February 4 to 20 by a country it accuses of perpetrating a "genocide" against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. , in northwestern China. Several human rights organizations accuse Beijing of having interned at least one million Muslims in Xinjiang in “re-education camps”. The Chinese authorities systematically denounce "the interference" of Westerners who condemn this situation, assuring that they are "vocational training centers" to support employment and combat religious extremism.
Consequence of this boycott: no representative of the United States government will attend the Olympic or Paralympic Games, but American athletes will participate in the competitions.