We must boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in China: former US ambassador to UN Nikki Haley
DHARAMSALA, 1 March: Former US ambassador to United Nations, Nikki Haley has called on the US to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in China.
“We must boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in China,” Haley tweeted.
“It would be a terrible loss for our athletes, but that must be weighed against the genocide occurring in China and the prospect that empowering China will lead to even greater horrors down the road,” she added.
Additionally, the Indian-American Republican politician, who has previously declared China as the US’ “absolute number one” national security threat has authored an op-ed calling on President Joe Biden to stand up to the Chinese Communist Party and boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Haley said in her op-ed that “if the US boycotts the winter Olympics it will send an unmistakable message that China’s tyranny and threats are unacceptable. It will show that actions have consequences.”
“President Biden must make the decision to boycott. It shouldn’t be a tough one,” it added.
And to those who are of the opinion that US athletes should be allowed to compete after years of training, she stated that “while my heart would break for our great athletes, their concerns must be weighed against the suffering of millions of people, and the millions more under threat. Individual and national athletic glory are not as important as upholding America’s guiding principles.”
She further declared that those who will argue that a US boycott will have no impact on Beijing simply “shows a lack of understanding about diplomacy,” a remark, completely opposite to what IOC vice president Dick Pound.
Pound has remarked earlier that barring athletes from participating in the event would be “a gesture that we know will have no impact whatsoever”.
“When you let your counterpart get away with genocide, which is literally true of China, you’re negotiating from a position of weakness. If you stand strong on non-negotiable issues, you’re in a position of strength. Ignoring China’s evil actions is no way to stop those actions in the future, much less make progress on other critical security and economic issues,” her op-ed read.
“A boycott is in the best interests of the United States and our principles. It would be even better if Biden urged America’s allies to join us,” she concluded.
Meanwhile, other lawmakers from her political party, Republican, have also urged President Biden to boycott the Winter Olympics in Beijing as well.
“Participation in an Olympics held in a country that is openly committing genocide not only undermines those shared values but casts a shadow on the promise for all those who seek free and just societies,” Republican congressman John Katko said in a letter he addressed to the president Biden, posted on his House website.
The Games are scheduled to begin on 4 Feb next year, but calls to boycott it continues to get steam.
