The US State Department wants to talk to allies about a possible boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. Human rights organizations have called for a boycott of the Games in China because human rights are being violated there.
This mainly concerns the oppression of the Uyghurs in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. A spokesperson for the ministry did not want to confirm whether there are already talks: “But a coordinated action would be not only in our interest but also in the interest of our partners.”
“It will be a while before the Games start in Beijing. I do not want to attach a timetable to it, but the discussions have started”, said the spokesperson. Earlier, a senior official from the same ministry had stated that there are no talks with other countries yet. “Our position on the Games has not changed. No boycott has been discussed with allies and partners.”
The United States accuse China of violating human rights. An alliance of 180 international human rights organizations called for a boycott in February. “Everything else is seen as supporting the authoritarian rule and the Chinese Communist Party’s unconcealed disregard for civil and human rights,” the appeal said. Through chairman Thomas Bach, the IOC did not call a boycott the right way to expose problems.
Meanwhile, China has strongly criticized US suggestions about a possible boycott. “The political interference in sports goes against the Olympic charter and harms the interests of all athletes and the Olympic movement,” said a spokesman for the Chinese government. He called the allegations of a “so-called genocide” on the Muslim minority of Uyghurs in Xinjiang “the lie of the century”.