'Political Rubbish': Chinese Media Blasts US Senator Cotton for Calls to Boycott Beijing Olympics

The American lawmaker said that the safety and security of the athletes can't be ensured, and also slammed "China's crimes against the world", urging for a total boycott of "genocide Olympics".

The Chinese media has lashed out at Tom Cotton after the Arkansas Senator criticised Beijing and urged the US not to participate in the upcoming winter Olympics. Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the state-run Global Times slammed the lawmaker, calling him "rubbish" and expressing hope that other senators are not like him.

In my view, this senator is a political rubbish. He lies, is bellicose, lacks the least self-awareness. Hope in the US Congress, there isn’t only stink of rubbish like him. https://t.co/fQ2D0fpUWn

— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) November 19, 2021

Cotton made the statement amid an uncertain situation regarding the Olympics, as Joe Biden said he is considering the possibility of a diplomatic boycott. Some politicians, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), who was in charge of the 2002 Winter Olympics, voiced their support for the step. At the same time, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee opposed calls to boycott the games.

Security guards stand at the gates of what is officially known as a vocational skills education center in Huocheng County in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 3, 2018

© REUTERS / Thomas Peter

The idea of boycotting the event has been fuelled by alleged human rights abuses, as the US, Britain, and other countries previously accused Beijing of repressing Uyghur Muslims in the region of Xinjiang and establishing prison-like camps for the minority.

China, however, denied those claims, saying the allegations are nothing but "lies and disinformation", and noting that the so-called re-education camps in Xinjiang are training centres, established to combat regional extremism.