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US lawmakers laud India for diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics, terms China's action 'shameful'
External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said that India's chargé d'affaires in the Beijing embassy will not be attending the opening and closing ceremony of the mega sporting event.
Top US lawmakers on Thursday applauded India for the diplomatic boycott of the winter Olympics in Beijing after China picked a PLA soldier, who was part of the military command that attacked Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley in 2020, as a torchbearer for the event. US senator Jim Risch, a ranking member of the US senate foreign relations committee, described China’s decision to choose the PLA soldier as torchbearer as “shameful”. He said the US will continue to support the sovereignty of India.
“It's shameful that Beijing chose a torchbearer for the Olympics 2022 who's part of the military command that attacked India in 2020 and is implementing genocide against the Uyghurs. The U.S. will cont. to support Uyghur freedoms & the sovereignty of India,” Risch tweeted.
Describing the Chinese action of honouring the commander as "regrettable", external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a media briefing that India's chargé d'affaires in the Beijing embassy will not be attending the opening and closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati said the Doordarshan Sports channel will not telecast both ceremonies of the mega sporting event.
India to skip Beijing Olympics opening event as Galwan soldier made torch-bearer
The US, the UK, Canada and Australia have already declared a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics over China’s human rights record. US senate foreign relations committee chairman Bob Menendez applauded India for joining the diplomatic boycott, saying the US stands with all countries that reject the cold-blooded effort to turn the Olympics into a political victory lap.
“I applaud India for joining the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics. We stand with all countries that reject the CCP’s heinous human rights abuses & cold-blooded effort to turn the Olympics 2022 into a political victory lap,” Menendez tweeted.
Michael McCaul, chairman of China Task Force, said we shouldn’t be surprised the “genocidal CCP” chose a torchbearer who attacked their “democratic neighbour India”.
“It’s a chilling example of how they threaten our values by legitimizing atrocities with the help of patsies like the #IOC," the Republican senator tweeted.
