Athletes will be able to attend the appointment, which takes place every four years.
On Monday, the United States authorities confirmed that they will not send any diplomatic representatives to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, in protest of human rights abuses in the Asian giant, although American athletes will participate in the event.
“The government (of US President Joe) Biden will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the 2022 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at her daily press conference.
Psaki attributed the decision to “genocide and crimes against humanity that persist in (China’s northwestern region of) Xinjiang, as well as other human rights abuses” in China.
“Team USA athletes have our full support, and we will be supporting them from home, but we will not add to the fanfare for the Games,” said Biden’s spokeswoman.
The diplomatic boycott, which several US media had already advanced, seeks to “send a clear signal” that the human rights situation in China, where there are “egregious abuses,” cannot be treated as “normal”, said Psaki.
At the same time, the White House has decided not to prohibit the participation of American athletes, something that would have meant a complete boycott of the Games, because it does not want to “penalize” athletes who have been training for months or years to prepare for the Olympics added.
The Chinese government already indicated last week that it did not plan to invite US politicians to the Winter Games, although the International Olympic Committee had the last word on that possibility.
Biden’s decision is less drastic than the one made in 1980 by then-US President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), who announced a full boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympics in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
This meant that American athletes could not participate in the Games, unlike this time. (I)
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