U.S. Considering a Boycott of 2022 Beijing Olympics: State Department Spox
State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday that the United States is considering a boycott of the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
There have been calls for boycotts of the Olympic Games being held in China next year over the repression of Uyghur Muslims. A recent State Department report said, “Genocide and crimes against humanity occurred during the year against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang.”
During Tuesday’s briefing, the 2022 Olympics came up, and Price said the United States will be in “close consultations with partners and allies around the world.”
“We have consistently said, when it comes to our concerns with the government in Beijing, including Beijing’s egregious human rights violations, its conduct of genocide in the case of Xinjiang, that what the United States does is meaningful, what the United States does will have impact, but everything we do that brings along our allies and partners will have all the more influence,” he said.
Minutes later one reporter picked up on the line of questioning and said, “You seemed to suggest on the Olympics that the U.S. is in consultations with allies discussing whether to consider, plan some sort of joint boycott. Is that the case?
Price responded, “It is something that we certainly wish to discuss, and that it is certainly something that we understand that a coordinated approach will be not only in our interest but also in the interest of our allies and partners.”
“So this is one of the issues that is on the agenda, both now and going forward, and when we have something to announce, we will be sure to do that.”
You can watch the briefing above (the relevant part starts at the 2:03:10 mark).
UPDATE — 6:17 pm ET: Per Politico’s Andrew Desiderio, a senior State Department official is now saying, “Our position on the 2022 Olympics has not changed. We have not discussed and are not discussing any joint boycott with allies and partners.”
