Australian Prime Minister Scott Mirrison ha confirmed today that his country will diplomatically boycott the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics being held in China, following the United States’ doing the same a day earlier.
Canberra has major “disagreements” with China on several issues, including its foreign interference laws and the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, in the high-profile AUKUS deal in September.
PM Scott Morrison stated: "Australia will not step back from the strong position we've had standing up for Australia's interests, and obviously it is of no surprise that we wouldn't be sending Australian officials to those Games”
‘No One Cares’: Chinese Foreign Ministry Hts Back In Strong Terms
China has reacted to the diplomatic boycott initiative by shrugging it off as inconsequential, while commenting on the motivations of ‘individual politicians’.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry made a strong statement at a press briefing where the spokesperson called the diplomatic boycott “meaningless” on the basis of what the Australian Olympic Committee president had said about politicians staying away from the Beijing Winter Olympics.
“In order to participate in the Beijing Olympics, athletes from various countries have carrried out a lot of training and hard work”, calling it “a rare opportunity to show themselves” to the world.
The statement continued: The athletes are the “protagonists” of the event, not individual politicians. Those politicians who clamour to boycott for political self-interest are showing off and hyping things up. No one cares whether they come or not”
“It has no influence in Beijing’s success in hosting the Winter Olympics”.
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