US To Make Decision On Boycott Of Winter Olympics In Beijing

The US is planning to boycott the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China with Australia now also considering pulling representatives from the games.

The diplomatic boycott is in response to alleged human rights abuses by the Chinese capital with other countries including Canada and the UK considering joining the US.

The plans have sparked conversation within the coalition about an official boycott of the February winter games.

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China has responded to the Biden administrations threats with threats of their own with China’s Foreign Minister representative Zhao Lijian saying they will be forced to take “firm countermeasures”.

“Without being invited, American politicians keep hyping the so-called diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympic, which is purely wishful thinking and grandstanding,” he said. 

Zhao added that if the US do follow through with the boycott, it would be considered “outright political provocation”.

With the US instigating the boycott, this will prevent Australia from being targeted following 2020’s inquiry into the source of Covid along with the lobby for a ban on Huawei telecommunications resulting in massive trade strikes.

The Morrison government is currently leaning in favour of the boycott with the Prime Minister saying they are “considering those matters and working through those issues”. 

The Morrison government was initially planning to prevent ministers from travelling to china while blaming the decision on restrictions due to Covid.

While the government appears to be on board with the boycott, a formal decision has not yet been made.

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