U.S. diplomats to boycott Beijing Olympics

Press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday that American dignitaries could not treat the Winter Olympics as “business as usual” in light of reported human rights abuses in China. The United States will still send its athletes to Beijing to compete in February, but no diplomats will attend the festivities. Psaki said the boycott is meant to protest China’s “egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang.”

What has China done? Human rights advocates say China is attempting to use the Games to hide human rights crimes against political dissidents and ethnic minorities such as Uyghurs. The United States labeled China’s oppression of Uyghurs a genocide earlier this year. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian accused the United States of grandstanding, and China has threatened to respond with “firm countermeasures.” President Jimmy Carter pulled out all U.S. delegates and athletes from the 1980 Olympics in Moscow to protest Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan. Psaki said not sending diplomats gives a clear message without penalizing American athletes.

Dig deeper: Read June Cheng’s report on testimony from Uyghurs before a United Kingdom tribunal.