Canada announced on Wednesday that it will proceed with a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement during a press conference alongside Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge, reported CTV News.
“We are extremely concerned by the repeated human rights violations by the Chinese government. That is why we are announcing today that we will not be sending any diplomatic representation to the Beijing Olympic, Paralympic Games this winter,” Trudeau said.
“Our athletes have been training for years and are looking forward to compete at the highest level against athletes from around the world. They will continue to have all of our fullest support,” he added.
Trudeau said China shouldn’t be surprised by the move, noting, “We have been very clear over the past many years of our deep concerns around human rights violations and this is a continuation of us expressing our deep concerns.”
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said Wednesday he approves of a diplomatic boycott.
“We shouldn’t send a message that we accept treatment of the Uyghurs, and we accept the situation in Hong Kong so at this stage a diplomatic boycott is appropriate,” he said.
With the move, Canada joined a host of countries, including the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UK which have announced a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics as a means of protesting against human rights abuses in China towards the Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang province.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday that the US has a "fundamental commitment to promoting human rights" and that it "will not be contributing to the fanfare of the Games."
China has denied the allegations of human rights abuses. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters this week the boycott violates “the principle of political neutrality of sports established by the Olympic Charter and runs counter to the Olympic motto ‘more united’”.