China: Joe Biden's Possible Diplomatic Non-Boycott of Olympics 'No Big Deal'
China’s government-controlled propaganda newspaper Global Times proclaimed a potential “diplomatic” boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics “no big deal” on Monday given that it would not result in any athletes not participating.
China is set to host the Winter Olympics in February despite currently engaging in a long list of human rights atrocities, including genocide. Human rights activists have campaigned for months to urge nations – and commercial sponsors – to boycott the Olympic Games, but not a single country nor corporation has agreed to do so at press time.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) itself has refused to raise human rights issues with the Chinese Communist Party and actively defended China against accusations of human rights violations, specifically against athletes.
President Joe Biden told reporters last week that a “diplomatic” boycott of the Olympics – which would not be a boycott but would result in American politicians not attending the Games – was “something we are considering” as an administration. Biden has support from Republicans such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who has expressed enthusiasm at the idea of Americans engaging in the Beijing Olympics.
Following Biden’s comments, reports have surfaced that other nations allied to the United States, including Canada and Australia, may also participate in the Games but abstain from sending government representation.
Beijing is currently experiencing a severe outbreak of Chinese coronavirus – a disease that originated in Wuhan, China – that has also compromised China’s ability to host the Olympics and would result in countries sending fewer politicians to attend, anyway.
The Global Times, often among China’s most belligerent English-language government media outlets, dismissed a potential diplomatic “boycott” by the Five Eyes intelligence group – America, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand – as “no big deal” on Monday, citing Chinese regime-approved “experts.”
Activists rally in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, California on November 3, 2021, calling for a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics due to concerns over China’s human rights record. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
“[E]xperts said that a boycott by the Five Eyes Alliance will be ‘no big deal’ for hosting such a highly anticipated event, not to mention spoiling the heated vibes of the Games,” the Global Times reported. “They added that these countries will also face strong pressure from their own players, who have prepared hard and waited for four years for this opportunity but would likely be blocked by their own countries’ playing of geopolitics.”
“Especially with the newly adopted Olympic motto, the IOC wants to stress the unity of the world instead of ideological biases,” one of those “experts,” a professor identified as Zhao Jisheng of Beijing Normal University, told the propaganda outlet.
In a separate article on Monday, the Global Times warned the Communist Party that it would “lose if it cares about” a diplomatic “boycott.”
“China used to care about maintaining a harmonious atmosphere with the West and the way being regarded by the rest of the world, particularly by the West. This needs to be changed,” the Global Times advised. “With the rise of China as a major power and the weakened hegemony of the U.S., Western superiority has been shaken, creating a strong and unprecedented resistance to China.”
The solution to the diplomatic “boycott,” if it even occurs, is to turn China into a military hegemon, the Global Times declared.
“We need to grow strong in national defense so that the U.S. and its main allies will treat China with awe. Once they are impulsive to counter China, they can only use rhetoric but dare not take real action,” the state newspaper asserted. “As time goes by, they will eventually accept peaceful coexistence with China.”
Also a potential solution, it added, is the fact that American elites depend heavily on China for their wealth.
“Within themselves, the US and the West will debate which comes first – values or economic interests. They are hooked by their own lies, and play double-face without dignity,” the outlet wrote.
“The elites of the US and other Western countries do not matter much whether they are envious, jealous, hateful, fearful or angry. It’s not worthy for China to spend energy and resources to care about their emotions and attitudes and even attempt to reverse their negative thoughts toward China,” the Global Times concluded.
Over the weekend, the Global Times mocked the idea of a diplomatic “boycott” as a benefit to the Olympics, as it would draw more attention to athletes and result in fewer, presumably undesirable, politicians at the event.
“Strictly speaking, a boycott of the Olympic Games means banning all of its country’s athletes from participation,” the Global Times observed in an editorial. “‘Diplomatic boycott’ is a roughly man-made new concept by Western politicians, meaning no ban on athletes, but government officials would not attend.”
“Wouldn’t we still call the event the Olympic Games even if leaders of a few countries won’t show up? Was the Games ever designed as a show for government officials?” the editorial asked.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, a more official mouthpiece for the communist regime, addressed the potential diplomatic “boycott” on Monday, accusing those considering the move of hurting the athletes who trained to participate in the Games.
“China has reiterated many times that the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games is a stage for all winter sports athletes around the world. It is them that should be in the spotlight,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, who originated the unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that the Chinese coronavirus originated in Maryland, said.
“China firmly opposes politicization of sports and all acts and words that violate the spirit of the Olympic Charter.
Activists including members of the local Hong Kong, Tibetan and Uyghur communities hold up banners and placards in Melbourne on June 23, 2021, calling on the Australian government to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over China’s human rights record. ( WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty)
Such hyping-up would only undermine the interests of athletes from different countries.”
China does appear to care in some capacity about having politicians at the games, as dictator Xi Jinping invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to attend this weekend. The Kremlin stated that it had not yet finalized travel plans, implying that Putin had accepted the invitation.
Russia is the only country to speak out at press time against a diplomatic “boycott.” The most senior senator in Russia’s Duma, Valentina Matviyenko, called any attempt to boycott the Olympics “unacceptable” on Tuesday.
“It is especially sad to hear the rhetoric of confrontation from colleagues in the parliamentary community,” Matviyenko protested, according to the Chinese government news agency Xinhua. “Such statements contradict the spirit of parliamentarism and the Olympic principles.”
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