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The Biden administration will not send any “diplomatic or official representation” to Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Monday, amid the People’s Republic of China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang.
Beijing is set to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in February. Human rights activists and congressional Republicans have called for a boycott of the event amid international criticism of China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims in the northwest region of Xinjiang, its crackdown on protesters in Hong Kong, and its policies toward Tibet and Taiwan.
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During a White House press briefing, Psaki said the athletes on Team USA “have our full support,” but an official delegation will not travel to the games.
“The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, given the PRC’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses,” Psaki said.
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“The athletes on Team USA have our fully support, we will be behind them 100% as we cheer them on from home,” Psaki said.
Psaki added that the United States “will not be contributing to the fanfare of the games.”
“U.S. diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC’s egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang, and we simply can’t do that,” Psaki said.
She added: “As the president has told President Xi, standing up for human rights is in the DNA of Americans.”
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Psaki noted that the Biden administration has a “fundamental commitment to promoting human rights,” and feels “strongly in our position.”
“We will continue to take actions to advance human rights in China and beyond,” Psaki said.
