Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Wednesday that his nation is joining the U.S. in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing following concerns of human rights abuses in the Communist nation.
Trudeau made the remarks after a similar move by President Joe Biden on Monday that was soon followed by leaders in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Canada’s athletes will continue plans to compete in the Olympic 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,” Psaki told reporters during a briefing on Monday, The Daily Wire reported.
Psaki officially announces a U.S. diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Olympics: “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[.]” pic.twitter.com/xc5WL08rNI
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 6, 2021
“The athletes on Team USA have our full support, we’ll be behind them 100% as we cheer them on from home. We will not be contributing to the fanfare of the Games,” Psaki added.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed on Tuesday that Australia would join the U.S. in imposing a diplomatic boycott on the games.
“[We are] very happy to talk to the Chinese government about these issues and there’s been no obstacle to that occurring on our side, but the Chinese government has consistently not accepted those opportunities for us to meet about these issues,” Morrison said.
“So it is not surprising, therefore, that Australian government officials would not be going to China for those games. Australian athletes will, though. Australia’s a great sporting nation and I very much separate the issues of sport and these other political issues. They’re issues between two governments.”
The BBC reported earlier on Wednesday that, “British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the UK will diplomatically boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics, due to be held in February 2022.”
The report noted Johnson’s announcement was made “during Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions, after former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith called for a ‘diplomatic boycott’ of the major sporting event.”
The Daily Wire previously reported that not all lawmakers are satisfied with the diplomatic boycott.
Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton blasted Biden during an interview on Tuesday, arguing Biden has “no plan” to protect American athletes sent to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
Cotton shared the remarks during an interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” on Tuesday responding to the nation’s diplomatic boycott of the Olympic Games in China.
“This is really nothing more than the sleeves off Joe Biden’s vest. It’s the status quo. China was going to have very strict travel controls anyway on diplomats and corporate officials because of their Draconian coronavirus lockdowns,” Cotton said during the interview.
“What I’m worried about is the safety of our athletes. I sent the Biden administration a letter last summer asking them for how they would assure the safety of our athletes,” he added. “They had no plan to protect our athletes.”