Beijing 2022: China hits back at Canada over calls to move Winter Olympics

‘Blatant politicisation of sport violates the spirit of the Olympic Movement and harms the interests of their athletes,’ says foreign ministry

Embassy in Canada dismisses ‘gross interference in China’s internal affairs and a malicious provocation against the 1.4 billion Chinese people’

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Tibetans living in exile and activists from different NGOs protest against alleged Chinese atrocities and to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, near Dharamsala in India in February. Photo: EPA

Published: 12:13pm, 24 Feb 2021Updated: 1:26pm, 24 Feb 2021

China has hit back at Canadian politicians calling for Beijing to be removed as hosts of next year’s Winter Olympics.

The calls were dismissed as a “a gross interference in China’s internal affairs and a malicious provocation against the 1.4 billion Chinese people” by a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Canada.

In Beijing, the Chinese foreign ministry said the “blatant politicisation of sport violates the spirit of the Olympic Movement and harms the interests of their athletes”.

On Monday, the Canadian House of Commons passed a non-binding motion to declare that China is committing genocide against the Uygur Muslims in the far Western Xinjiang region. The motion passed by a vote of 266-0, though Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet chose to abstain.

Further to declaring that “a genocide is currently being carried out by the People’s Republic of China against Uygurs and other Turkic Muslims” the motion called upon the International Olympic Committee to move the 2022 Winter Games from Beijing.