E-Paper
Canada announces diplomatic boycott of 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that Canada will follow others like the United States in undertaking a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that his country will follow others like the United States in undertaking a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Trudeau made the announcement in Ottawa and tweeted, “Canada remains deeply disturbed by reports of human rights violations in China. As a result, we won’t be sending diplomatic representatives to Beijing for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. We’ll continue to support our athletes who work hard to compete on the world stage.”
The boycott was expected after Canada’s principal allies including the US, the United Kingdom and Australia already took such action.
There was a vituperative reaction from the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa. In a statement attributed to a spokesperson, it said Trudeau had “falsely claimed” there were human rights violations by the Chinese government and “based on this groundless accusation” decided on the diplomatic boycott.
“The Chinese side expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this, and has lodged stern representations with the Canadian side,” the statement said.
It also accused Canada and other Western governments of “been flagrantly engaged in political manoeuvring” based on “ideological biases as well as lies and rumours” in an attempt to “to disrupt the smooth progress of Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games”. “The Canadian side’s hyping up a “diplomatic boycott” without even being invited to the Games is a pure self entertainment,” it added.
“Canada must stop politicising sports, stop disrupting and undermining the Beijing Winter Olympics immediately, lest it should lead to self-inflicted humiliation,” it concluded.
The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees issued a statement on the decision and said they “understand and respect” it. “We also recognise how this announcement draws the important distinction between the participation of athletes and the participation of government officials at the Games,” the statement noted.
Relations between Canada and China have deteriorated in recent times, since senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was detained in Vancouver in 2018 on charges of allegedly defrauding a financial institution to bypass sanctions upon the Iranian regime. Days later, two Canadians, including a former diplomat was arrested by China. Trudeau described that as “hostage diplomacy”.
After more than 1,000 days in captivity and being charged with spying, the two were released in September this year in what was seen as an exchange of prisoners and Meng also flew back to China after agreeing to a plea deal with American prosecutors.
A pending decision on blacklisting Huawei from Canada’s 5G infrastructure could further damage ties.
