Il political boycott against the Beijing Olympics it's getting larger. After the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom have also decided to boycott the scheduled winter games from the 4 to the 20 February 2022. It is a sabotage which, however, will not involve the athletes, but which wants to send a strong message to China, accused of not respecting the human rights of minorities in Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang. The no to the Olympics by the United States risks putting a tombstone on the attempt to thaw launched in the previous weeks during the virtual summit between the American and Chinese presidents, with the aim of easing tensions between the two economic superpowers.
In recent years, relations between China and various Western countries have been undermined by commercial, economic but also ethical differences. The United States, during the presidency of Donald Trump, had accused China of "genocide" for the repression against the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang. So too Canada had approved a motion that defines the violence against religious minorities in the Chinese province as genocide. Obviously, this accusation has been repeatedly rejected by Beijing. But the straw that broke the camel's back this was the case of tennis player Peng Shuai, champion at Wimbledon and the French Open, who disappeared into thin air for three weeks after reporting sexual harassment by a former Communist Party official, the former Chinese vice premier Zhang Gaoli.
Although it is not a complete boycott, Beijing has not welcomed Washington's announcement. The US will "pay" for the diplomatic boycott of the Olympics. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: "They should stop politicizing sports and interfering with words and deeds against the Beijing Olympics, otherwise they will undermine the dialogue and cooperation between the two countries in a number of important international and regional areas and issues”. Lijian also stressed that the Games "are a great event for athletes and winter sports enthusiasts from all over the world, they are the protagonists". China will "definitely be able to present simple, safe and exciting games to the world," concluded the Chinese spokesman.
However, Moscow has come to Beijing's defense. the Kremlin harshly criticized the choice of diplomatic boycott: "Our position is that the Olympic Games must remain free from politics". While our country does not seem to have any plans to carry out any sabotage at the Winter Games. France has also taken an intermediate position: according to Paris, the issue must be dealt with at a European level but this does not prevent it from having a “very demanding” position on human rights in China. This was stated by the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, during a press conference held in Paris alongside his German counterpart, Anna Baerbock. With regard to the Winter Olympics in China, we are in favor of "a common position whose challenges we will assess as a whole" at the next meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers or at a subsequent meeting, explained Le Drian.
The Olympic boycott risks turning into a boomerang. As happened in 1980, when Jimmy Carter's administration led over 65 countries not to participate in the Moscow Games, protesting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. In response, four years later, some fifteen countries along with the Soviet Union boycotted the Los Angeles Games. Therefore, the choice not to send one's functions could have side effects on the next Olympic events, those of Los Angeles in 2028 and the possible Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City in 2030.
