kyiv.Ukraine.Ukraine Gate – November 20,2021- The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson is considering a diplomatic boycott of next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing in protest of China’s human rights actions.
US President Joe Biden is ready to boycott, which means that neither he nor any US government officials will be present at the Beijing Games.
There is an “active debate” in the British government as to whether the country should follow the example of the Americans. Foreign Minister Liz Trass is said to support the boycott. Trass took a tougher line than her predecessor, Dominique Raab, who privately accused Beijing of genocide by persecuting Uighur Muslims.
The country’s prime minister had previously called himself a sinophile (a man with a keen interest in Chinese culture) and ruled out a total sports boycott in which British athletes would not take part.
The reason for the boycott is concerns about China’s human rights violations against Uighur Muslims. China is believed to have detained more than a million Uighurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang, a large region in northwest China. Most of the detainees in Xinjiang go to “re-education” institutions, such as prison camps, where they are held indefinitely without charge.
The XXIV Olympic Winter Games will be held from February 4 to 20, 2022 in Beijing, the Paralympic Games – from March 4 to 13.
