Canada follows AUKUS in diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

Canada will not be sending officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights concerns next year, joining a diplomatic boycott initiated by the United States. United Kingdom and Australia have also joined in.

The diplomatic boycott was announced by the White House to protest against alleged human rights abuses in China, where the games are scheduled to be held. China said it would react with “firm countermeasures”.

The announcement of Canada’s pullout was made on Wednesday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said the country has been communicating about the situation with allies.

He said, “We are extremely concerned by the repeated human rights violations by the Chinese government”, according to reports from Associated Press.

The Canadian leader added, “They should not be surprised we will not be sending any diplomatic representation.”

Athletes from the countries that have pulled out so far — Canada, United States, United Kingdom and Australia– would still be permitted to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics. However, the boycott would restrict any country representative’s attendance.

While the White House said on Monday this week that it would boycott the Olympic games, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison followed suit two days later and it said it was “in Australia’s national interest”.

Former Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom Liu Xiaoming said the US boycotted the upcoming Winter Olympics in China without even being invited to the games, reported The Guardian.  

Rights groups have called for a full-blown boycott of the Beijing Winter Games, citing Chinese human rights abuses against its Uyghur minority in the northwest Xinjiang province, which some have called genocide.

They also point to Beijing’s suppression of democratic protests in Hong Kong and a sweeping crackdown on dissent in the semi-autonomous territory.