Audiences are testing social distancing seating arrangements at a test event held at the Curling Stadium at the National Swimming Pool in Beijing on the 2nd ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which is scheduled to open in February 2022. Beijing = Reuters Yonhap News
The possibility of the U.S. boycotting the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in China was raised again. The reason is the rising conflict between the United States and China, including the human rights issue of Uighur in Xinjiang.
At a briefing on the 6th (local time), US State Department spokesman Ned Price said to the question, “Is the United States negotiating a joint boycott of the alliance and the Beijing Olympics?” “We definitely want to discuss it”. “We understand that a coordinated approach is not only in our interests, but also in the interests of our allies and partners,” said Price. “(Boycott) is one of the issues on the agenda both now and in the future.” . However, as if considering the possibility of changing the situation, “It is 2022 and there is still time since it is April 2021. “I don’t want to present a timetable,” Price added.
This is not the first time that US authorities have suggested that they may not attend the Beijing Olympics. Earlier in February, White House spokesman Jen Saki said at a briefing that the final decision was not made regarding participation in the Beijing Olympics. It was a remark that took a step forward from the standpoint that there was no related discussion.
Experts do not view the boycott of the United States and its allies in the Beijing Olympics as unlikely. CNBC Broadcast, a media specializing in the US economy, quoted a recent report from the political consulting firm Eurasia Group, saying, “There is a possibility that the US will not send government delegations with Canada, UK, Australia, etc. %” reported.
In addition, the Eurasian Group has a 30% chance of going to a boycott in a way that prevents players from participating, and if tensions ease between the US and China, the leaders of each country may not participate for some reason without official boycotting. . However, it is expected that Asian allies of the United States such as Japan, India and South Korea will not participate in the boycott, the report added.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Price showed a principled attitude about North Korea’s absence from the Tokyo Olympics, saying, “We are aware of the related reports,” and “it seems to be consistent with North Korea’s strict response to the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19).”
Jinwook Kim reporter [email protected]
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