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Letters | US diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics has fallen flat
- Readers write about America’s failed attempt to politicise the games, the weakness of Biden’s foreign policy, and the passing of rock star Meat Loaf
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As the Beijing Winter Olympics approaches, it is clear that Washington’s diplomatic boycott of the games is an international laughing stock. So far only members of the Five Eyes alliance and several other countries have followed suit.
Of the Five Eyes countries, only Australia and Canada seemed to unconditionally support the US. Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that no UK ministers will attend the games, but added that he typically did not support “sporting boycotts”. New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said early last month New Zealand government ministers would not attend the event due to logistical challenges related to Covid-19, rather than the US’ diplomatic boycott.
Some countries, including traditional US allies, have criticised the boycott. French President Emmanuel Macron said France has no plans to join a diplomatic boycott that would be “insignificant” and merely “symbolic”.
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The Austrian government has expressed opposition to any politicisation of the games, although it won’t send representatives due to the coronavirus restrictions.
In his statement to Czech athletes, Czech Republic President Milos Zeman said he was “fundamentally opposed to the abuse of the Olympic idea for political purposes”.
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Meanwhile, after announcing the diplomatic boycott, Washington submitted visa applications for more than 40 US officials to attend the games. As Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, this is “rather baffling”.
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