WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Thursday said the United States was considering a diplomatic boycott of next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing over China’s human rights violations, a move that would prevent American dignitaries, but not athletes, from the games.
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Thursday said the United States was considering a diplomatic boycott of next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing over China’s human rights violations, a move that would prevent American dignitaries, but not athletes, from the games.
Speaking to reporters as he greeted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the Oval Office, Biden said supporting a boycott of the Olympics in February is “something we are considering.”
The United States and other nations traditionally send high-level delegations to every Olympics. First Lady Jill Biden led the US contingent to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo this year and Second Mister Doug Emhoff led a delegation to the Paralympics.
International interest groups and some members of Congress have called for a symbolic US boycott of the Beijing games over China’s treatment of Uyghurs and its crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong. The participation of American athletes would not be affected by the boycott.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said there was no timeline for a president’s decision on whether to proceed with a possible boycott.
The White House said the Olympics did not take place on Monday when Biden virtually met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
