Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his country will follow the example of the United States and other countries in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Trudeau announced the news in Ottawa and wrote on Twitter: “Canada is still deeply disturbed by reports of China’s human rights violations. Therefore, we will not send diplomatic representatives to Beijing to participate in the Winter Olympics and Paralympics. We will continue to support our athletes, who strive to compete on the world stage.”

After Canada’s major allies, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, have taken such actions, the boycott is expected.

The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa issued a verbal response. In a statement from the spokesperson, it said that Trudeau “falsely claimed” that the Chinese government had violated human rights and decided to conduct a diplomatic boycott “based on such baseless accusations.”

The statement said: “China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this and has lodged solemn representations with Canada. Prejudices, lies and rumors” in an attempt to “disturb the smooth progress of the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics.” It added: “The Canadian side hyped up the’diplomatic boycott’ without even being invited to participate in the Olympics. This is pure self-entertainment.”

“Canada must stop politicizing sports and immediately stop interfering with and sabotaging the Beijing Winter Olympics so as not to cause self-humiliation,” it concluded.

The Canadian Olympic Committee and the Paralympic Committee issued a statement on the decision and expressed that they “understand and respect” the decision. The statement stated: “We also recognize how this announcement distinguishes an important difference between athletes participating in the Olympics and government officials participating in the Olympics.”

complete News Source : Hindustan times