US not planning to boycott Beijing Winter Olympics despite Xinjiang genocide designation
- China is facing calls for the 2022 Games to be moved elsewhere over its human rights record
- The State Department said separately that the US is ‘deeply disturbed’ by reports of systematic rape and sexual abuse against women in Uygur internment camps
US President Joe Biden’s administration is signalling it currently has no plans to bar American athletes’ participation in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, despite mounting calls for the Games to be moved over China’s human rights record.
Rights advocacy groups and politicians have made demands for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take the event out of China, casting a pall on Beijing’s efforts to highlight the Games as Thursday marks one year from opening day.
A group of US Republican senators on Tuesday introduced a resolution with a similar call to move the Games after the United States’ designation that the Chinese government was perpetrating genocide against Uygur Muslims in its Xinjiang region. That decision was made in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency.
“We’re not currently talking about changing our posture or our plans as it relates to the Beijing Olympics,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a news briefing on Wednesday.
03:26
Will China face a massive boycott over the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics?
“We consult, of course, closely with allies and partners at all levels to define our common concerns and establish a shared approach, but there is no discussion under way of a change in our plans from the United States at this point in time,” she said.