Romney, Curtis support U.S. diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics
Dec 6, 2021, 2:57 PM | Updated: 6:07 pm
(Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Rep. John Curtis voiced their support for President Joe Biden’s diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
The White House announced the boycott Monday, saying U.S. athletes will still participate in the games, but the United States will not send any representatives.
“U.S. diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC’s egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang, and we simply can’t do that,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during Monday’s briefing.
Senators Romney and Tim Kaine D-VA released a joint statement Monday.
A diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games sends the right message to the CCP without punishing U.S. athletes. Never again must the @Olympics be awarded to a nation which commits genocide and so blatantly violates the human rights of its own citizens.https://t.co/khazeG5QmX
— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) December 6, 2021
“We applaud the President’s decision to withhold any diplomatic presence from the upcoming Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. America must not lend its credibility to the Chinese Communist Party, which represses ethnic and religious minorities—committing genocide against its Uyghur citizens, oppressing the people of Hong Kong, and subjugating the people of Tibet. Never again must the Olympics be awarded to a nation which so blatantly violates the human rights of its own citizens.
A news release said Romney first called for a diplomatic boycott in March because of the Chinese Communist Party’s continuing human rights abuses.
Rep. John Curtis was equally tough on the Chinese on Monday.
China has been engaged in threatening and oppressive behavior, highlighted by its actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang and the disappearance of Peng Shuai.
The Administration is right to announce a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.https://t.co/6KXW8yd2T8
— Rep. John Curtis (@RepJohnCurtis) December 6, 2021
“China has been engaged in threatening and oppressive behavior, highlighted by its actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang and the disappearance of Peng Shuai,” he said in a tweet. “The Administration is right to announce a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.”
He said the International Olympic Committee needs to change the process so countries that actively commit mass atrocities are not considered to host future games.
Calls for either a diplomatic or full boycott of the Winter Games have grown since the Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai disappeared from public view for three weeks after making sexual assault allegations against a former senior official of the Chinese Communist Party.