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| At the closing ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games held at the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium in Gangwon-do on February 25, 2018, Beijing Mayor Chen Jining, the host city of the next Olympic Games, is receiving the Olympic flag from IOC Chairman Bach. 2018.2.25/News1 © News1 Reporter Heo Kyung |
The U.S. Olympic Committee opposes the boycott as the Joe Biden administration suggested a possible boycott with allies at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in China.
According to AFP, the U.S. Olympic Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said on the 7th (local time) that the absence of participation in the Beijing Winter Olympics means using athletes as “political hostages” and opposes the boycott.
USOPC chairman Susan Lions met with reporters on the day and stressed that “we firmly believe that boycotts are not effective.”
He said that the only dream for players is to represent the United States in international competitions. “We think that young American players should not be used as political hostages.”
His declaration of opposition to the Beijing Winter Olympics boycott came out the day before the US State Department announced that it would discuss the absence of participation in the Beijing Winter Olympics with allies regarding human rights issues in Xinjiang, China.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a press briefing the day before, “(Beijing Winter Olympics boycott) is definitely something we want to discuss.”
“A common approach to the boycott is in the interests of our allies and partners as well,” Price said. He added that it is true that China is concerned about human rights violations even though the government has not yet decided.
While acknowledging the issue of human rights in China, the Lions president said, “There are many ways to respond constructively to this issue besides declining not to attend the Winter Olympics.”
Meanwhile, a coalition of 180 human rights organizations is also pressing the IOC to move the venue of the Beijing Olympics, which will be held from February 4th to February 20th, in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong, saying that the Chinese government is cracking down on human rights.