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UK Joins US in Diplomatic Boycott of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

© REUTERS / THOMAS PETERA snowboarder stands in front of the logo of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China, November 20, 2021
A snowboarder stands in front of the logo of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China, November 20, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 08.12.2021
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LONDON (Sputnik) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday announced that no government ministers or officials will attend the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, but that UK athletes will be competing in the major sporting event.
“There will be effectively a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. No ministers are expected to attend and no officials,” Johnson told Parliament when asked if London would follow the lead of the US, Australia and Lithuania by having a full diplomatic boycott of the games scheduled for February over alleged human rights violations by the Chinese government.
The prime minister stressed that he does not support sporting boycotts, meaning that UK athletes will be allowed to attend the event.
On Monday, the White House announced that the US would not send an official delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics due to human rights violations by China. The Chinese government rejected the allegation and criticized the US for promoting the boycott of the Games among its allies and politicizing sports, which is contrary to the Olympic Charter.

Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that "no one would care" if a number of foreign officials chose not to attend the Games.

The 2022 Beijing Winter Games will be held from 4 - 20 February.
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