State Department spokesman Ned Price has expressed the Biden administration's desire for a "coordinated approach" with its allies when it comes to the possible boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics over the ongoing Uyghur genocide in the communist state's Xinjiang province.
In a briefing on Tuesday night, Price said that a potential joint boycott is a move that the Biden administration believes is still on the table. The spokesman said, "It is certainly something that we understand that a coordinated approach will be not only in our interests, but also in the interests of our allies and partners."
According to Reuters, Price reiterated that while these ideas are still being considered, the decision on whether to boycott the 2022 Beijing Olympics has not yet been decided. The games are set to take place from February 4 to 20 next year and has placed immense spotlight on Beijing's detractors following reports of Uyghur genocide in the Xinjiang province.
China has repeatedly denied the existence of such events despite overwhelming evidence of it. China's position remains that the west is pushing propaganda to interfere with local jurisdictions and laws.
Earlier this year, the Biden administration hinted that preventing American athletes from participating in the 2022 Beijing Olympics would not be in the best interests of the country. Instead, they are looking for other ways such as a diplomatic boycott, in which officials refrain from attending the games, to show opposition against China's Uyghur genocide.
Faithwire reported that in the face of the Chinese government's vehement desire to label reports of the Uyghur genocide as "malicious lies," Biden's Secretary of State Tony Blinken and his predecessor Mike Pompeo both agree that their actions indeed constitute genocide.
Since then, the United States and China have swapped sanctions, with the United States joining the European Union in imposing travel and economic sanctions against Xinjiang Public Security Bureau Director Chen Mingguo and former deputy party secretary in Xinjiang, Wang Junzheng, as per Voice Of America.
China responded with several sanctions of their own, targeting the chairs of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Gayle Manchin and Tony Perkins, as well as Canadian parliamentarian Michael Chong and the Canada's House of Commons foreign affairs subcommittee on international human rights.
"Beijing's attempts to intimidate and silence those speaking out for human rights and fundamental freedoms only contribute to the growing international scrutiny of the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang," Blinken said in a statement as reported by CNBC.
With this in mind, the Washington Post is calling for a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, as the editorial board called upon businesses to refrain from "enriching themselves by contributing to the glorification of an authoritarian state."
The editorial pointed out that at least $1 billion is being poured into exclusive marketing rights that will allow businesses to include the Olympic logo in their commercials. Money that could be spent saving the lives of over 1 million oppressed and abused Uyghurs Muslims, who at the hands of the communist Chinese have endured forced sterilization, rape, torture, and forced labor.
The Post declared that in good conscience, they will not sponsor the 2022 Beijing Olympics "in a country sponsoring a genocide."
