Beijing Olympics: US shouldn’t send officials, government panel says, citing Xinjiang abuses

Calls have been mounting for a diplomatic boycott in which athletes would compete but government representatives would shun the Winter Games

Commission on International Religious Freedom’s annual report urges Washington to continue sanctions on Chinese agencies and officials over treatment of Uygurs

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A Chinese national flag flutters next to an Olympic flag at the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing in March. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:56am, 22 Apr 2021Updated: 7:30am, 22 Apr 2021

A US government commission on Wednesday urged the Biden administration to not send officials to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing religious persecution including China’s repression of Uygurs, which Washington has labelled genocide.

President Joe Biden’s administration signalled earlier this year that it had no plans to bar American athletes from taking part in the Beijing Games.

But calls from lawmakers and activists have been mounting for a coordinated diplomatic boycott in which athletes would compete but government representatives would shun the Games.

Some have also made a case for a possible postponement or relocation of the event scheduled for next February.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom in an annual report encouraged Washington to continue to impose targeted financial and visa sanctions on Chinese government agencies and officials responsible for “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations”.