U.S. allies join Beijing Olympics protest

Australian, British, and Canadian officials will join American diplomats in boycotting the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. All four countries will allow their athletes to compete but will buck the tradition of sending a political delegation. They are protesting China’s human rights abuses, especially of the Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region.

What does China say? Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China would respond with “resolute countermeasures” but offered no details. Thomas Bach, chairman of the International Olympic Committee, sidestepped questions about China’s human rights record, saying, “We have our full focus on the athletes. … The rest is politics.”

Dig deeper: Read Erica Kwong’s report on the disappearance of Peng Shuai, a Chinese tennis player who accused a Communist Party official of sexual assault.