UK government hints at diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

Leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, on Thursday, confirmed that "no tickets have been booked" for the UK ministers to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. The announcement came as a response to the question from Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Member of Parliament, co-chair of the cross-party Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), on whether the UK government would opt for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Asserting that the decision of the British Olympics Committee to decide the participation of the athletes, he noted: "As regards Government Ministers, whether they would wish to go to the People's Republic of China, I can tell the honourable gentleman that no tickets have been booked," ANI reported. However, speaking on the matter, Sir Duncan Smith clarified that despite the invite, the UK ministers would refrain from attending the 2022 Beijing Olympics, although, "it isn't as yet a clear public statement." Explaining the possible reasons behind the potential boycott, Smith asserted that the Games will take place amid the Chinese government's "industrial-scale human rights abuses" in the Uyghur Region, Tibet. Additionally, China's aggressive behaviour as it sends near-daily military incursions into Taiwan's airspace might also continue while the Games are on. "That is why the U.K. government must now go one further and publicly confirm that no ministers, diplomats, or other British officials will attend the games. We cannot lend any legitimacy to China's despotic regime." Sir Smith elaborated.

UK to follow Biden administration's move?

The declaration comes after international impetus behind the diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games beginning with the Biden administration stating that no US government officials will be attending the Games, IPAC said in a statement. Also, there is an "active discussion" in the government about whether Britain would follow the suit poised by Biden, The Times reported, quoting UK foreign secretary Liz Truss, who is said to be in favour.

Meanwhile, international concerns have also prevailed for the Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who appeared only in a series of stages in Chinese-based media. It is pertinent to mention that Peng Shuai disappeared on November 2 after she accused a top Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official of sexual abuse. She was publicly missing and her whereabouts remained undisclosed until November 13, when a Chinese-state-run media released a video of the 35-year-old dining at a restaurant in Beijing. The Chinese ministry continued to maintain silence on Shuai missing with a Beijing spokesperson saying that her disappearance "is not a diplomatic question."

(With inputs from ANI)

(Image: AP)