Who will attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics (OG) taking place from February 4 to 20, 2022, in Beijing? Sportsmen, first – the # nobeijing2022 campaign, animated by human rights NGOs mobilized for Tibet, the Uighurs of Xinjiang and Hong Kong, has not resulted in a front of rejection. Political leaders then, but which ones? Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, announced his arrival. The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, too. For the time being, the call for a diplomatic boycott of the Games, from the United States, on December 6, embraces a restricted and expected geopolitics. Joe Biden has coached his closest partners in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK), while Europeans are arguing and in Asia the idea is dismissed.
Thursday, December 9, France seemed to hesitate. Education and Sports Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said Paris would not support the boycott, but his entourage immediately corrected him: “On the diplomatic subject, it’s Jean-Yves Le Drian [ministre des affaires étrangères] which is currently in dialogue to find a common position at European level. ” Later that day, during his presentation of the French presidency of the European Union (EU), Emmanuel Macron expressed his personal conviction: “We must keep reason”, because the political boycott is, according to him, “A very small and symbolic measure”. The Head of State referred to “A decision in the coming weeks, in conjunction with the Europeans and the International Olympic Committee”, with the idea of “Protect all athletes”.
The United States announced the political boycott of the Beijing Games at the start of an intense diplomatic week where Joe Biden met with Vladimir Poutin, before hosting the summit for democracy. The message was clear: Washington wishes to dialogue with Beijing on subjects of possible convergence (Iranian nuclear power or the climate), but will not show any weakness. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki justified the move by “The ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights violations”. Before adding: “We will not participate in the Games fanfare. “
New Zealand and Australia were the first countries to follow suit. Australian Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison surprised by speaking on Wednesday, ahead of other countries like Canada or the United Kingdom, once again exposing Canberra to Chinese retribution. The Labor opposition, however, supported a decision that surprised no one, due to the deterioration, since 2017, of the Sino-Australian relationship.
You have 68.28% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
