180 Human Rights Groups Call For Boycott Of Beijing Winter Olympics Over Abuses Of Ethnic Minorities

A coalition of 180 human rights groups called for a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, citing Chinese government abuses of ethnic minorities, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The coalition, made up of advocates representing Tibetans, Uighurs, Inner Mongolians, residents of Hong Kong and others called on governments to boycott the games, which are scheduled to take place Feb. 4 of 2022.

State Dept. disbands Trump-era commission that heightened importance of religious freedom

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has formally dismissed the findings of a controversial Trump-era Commission on Unalienable Rights, which sought to elevate the promotion of religious freedom worldwide. Blinken, who vowed to promote LGBT rights worldwide during his confirmation hearings, only briefly alluded to religious persecution in a press conference unveiling the 45th State Department country reports on human rights practices last Tuesday. 

Religious Liberty and US Foreign Policy: No Longer the Guiding Principle?

On March 30, US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, announced what some saw as a fundamental change in American foreign policy. The US, Blinken said presenting the Department of State’s 45th annual report on human rights in the world, will “repudiate the unbalanced views” that placed religious liberty at the top of a hierarchy of human rights. “There is no hierarchy that makes some rights more important than others,” Blinken said.

Psaki Snaps When Asked If Biden Would Support U.S. Beijing Olympics Boycott, Given His Support For MLB Boycott In Georgia

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki flipped out when a reporter asked her if President Joe Biden has plans to evaluate the U.S.’s participation in the Beijing Olympics given his support for Major League Baseball to examine boycotting Georgia over a new election reforms law. “The president voiced his support for MLB making a decision about the all-star game in Georgia…”

POLITICS U.S. State Department backs away from the idea of a Beijing Olympics boycott

WASHINGTON – The State Department denied Tuesday evening that it was considering a joint boycott alongside allies of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. “Our position on the 2022 Olympics has not changed. We have not discussed and are not discussing any joint boycott with allies and partners,” a senior State Department official wrote in an emailed statement to CNBC.

YATES: Boycott Beijing, Move Winter Olympic Games To Japan

Many have questioned the efficacy of Olympic boycotts since the superpower exchange of the early 1980s. Some pointed to the historic image of Jesse Owens, standing as a personal monument to human dignity and achievement in the heart of Nazi Germany. Others point to the normative effect hosting an Olympics had on South Korea as it transitioned from martial law to democracy.

A U.S. boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics is more likely than not

Rights groups are calling for a boycott of Beijing 2022 to protest against Beijing’s continued persecution of the Uighur population in Xinjiang—a persecution the U.S. has labeled “genocide.” But while the Biden administration has sanctioned several Chinese officials and entities in response to the Xinjiang crisis, the White House hasn’t hinted that it might call for an Olympic boycott. Until recently.

China controls the IOC and Olympic sponsors the way it governs its citizens: Through fear

Noted East Asia scholar Perry Link once called China “the anaconda in the chandelier.” You wouldn’t knowingly let a snake into your home. Yet it got in. Or, rather, Procter & Gamble and other Olympic sponsors let it in. They unlocked your door and allowed it to crawl inside, and now you better check what’s coiled around your phone or that pair of shoes in your closet.

White House Confirms Biden Administration Not Discussing Beijing Olympics Boycott

The White House reiterated that the Biden administration isn’t discussing a joint boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, noting that the United States is still planning to attend the event. The confirmation comes April 7, after the State Department initially said yesterday that it was discussing with allies whether to consider a potential joint boycott, before the department later backtracked.