US DIPLOMATS TO BOYCOTT 2022 BEIJING WINTER OLYMPICS

The US has announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. The White House said no official delegation would be sent to the games because of concerns about China’s human rights record. But it said US athletes could attend the games and would have the government’s full support.

China has previously said it will take resolute counter-measures in the event of a boycott. President Joe Biden said last month that he was weighing up a diplomatic boycott of the Games. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called for the boycott as a means to protest against Chinese human rights abuses. The US has accused China of genocide towards the Uighurs, a Muslim minority group which lives mostly in the autonomous region of Xinjiang.

Meanwhile, reports reaching us say China on Monday said it will take countermeasures if the United States called for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.