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China Holds Annual Two Sessions Meetings Amidst Global Coronavirus Pandemic
BEIJING, CHINA - MAY 22: Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the opening of the National People's Congress at The Great Hall Of The People on May 22, 2020 in Beijing, China. China is holding now its annual Two Sessions political meetings, that were delayed since March due to the Covid19 outbreak.
China has warned the UK, US, Canada, and Australia that a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will cost them dearly.
The United States announced its boycott earlier this week, citing rampant Chinese human rights violations and what it calls a "genocide" against the Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.
On Wednesday, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada followed suit in a rush of diplomatic goodwill. The boycott did not result in no athletes being sent, but it incensed Beijing, threatening retaliation on Thursday.
Russia slams the US for boycotting at Beijing Olympics
France stated it would not boycott the February Games because "sports is a world in itself that must be protected from political influence." On the other hand, the Kremlin slammed the US action, saying the 2022 games should be "politically neutral." Russian President Vladimir Putin has already accepted Chinese President Xi Jinping's offer to attend.
Meanwhile, Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, stated on Wednesday that he would remain politically neutral on the issue, adding that the most important thing was "the athletes' participation in the Olympic Games," as per Daily Mail.
Human Rights Watch's China director Sophie Richardson has welcomed the boycott, calling it a "crucial step in challenging the Chinese government's crimes against humanity targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic people."
According to advocates, at least one million Uyghurs and other Turkic-speaking, predominantly Muslim minorities have been imprisoned in Xinjiang's "re-education camps," where China is also accused of forcefully freezing women and enforcing forced labor.
China has denied any wrongdoing in Xinjiang, which is home to the Uyghur Muslim minority and has defended the camps as vocational training facilities to diminish the appeal of Islamic extremism. Relations between Beijing and the four boycotting Western countries have deteriorated considerably in recent years.
US enacts restrictions against Xinjiang
Following the United States' decision to exclude its diplomats and officials from the Olympics due to "egregious human rights violations and crimes in Xinjiang," China has responded, Sky News reported.
The US House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday restricting imports from the region due to fears of forced labor. Although China has denied any human rights violations against the Uyghur people, there have been allegations of torture and fatalities inside the renowned re-education camps.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed Australia's diplomatic boycott two days after the US declaration, escalating already tense diplomatic relations with Beijing. He said Australia has struggled to restore diplomatic channels with China to raise alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang, China's far western region, and Beijing's anti-import measures.
The United States has been intensifying its pressure on China. Apart from the alleged human rights violations, the House of Representatives voted three measures against China on Wednesday, including a ban on imports from Xinjiang and condemnation of the "ongoing genocide" in the province, as well as forced labor.
Per The Independent, with 428 votes in favor and none against, a resolution claiming that the International Olympic Committee had breached its human rights commitments by working with China was easily carried. According to Gao Feng, China firmly opposes the restrictions, a spokesperson for the Chinese trade ministry.
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