EU foreign ministers are seeking a united front on how to
handle the issue. France said last week that a no-show of leaders and
dignitaries at the opening of the Olympics would have little true impact.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that as
little as possible should be taken away from the participants themselves.
“Athletes prepare for years, sometimes half their lives for
this, and that’s why it should not be used for political issues.”
China has dismissed the decision by Canada and the United
Kingdom to join Washington’s diplomatic boycott as a “farce” and was not
expecting the initiative to garner a worldwide following.
A joint no-show of the 27 nations would add gravitas to U.S.
President Joe Biden’s initiative, but the EU nations appear hesitant.
China has vowed to respond to the U.S. with “firm
countermeasures” over the boycott, but has given no details on how it plans to
retaliate.
Rights groups have called for a total boycott of the Beijing
Winter Games, citing Chinese human rights abuses against its Uyghur minority in
the northwest Xinjiang region, which some have called genocide. They also point
to Beijing’s suppression of democratic protests in Hong Kong and a sweeping
crackdown on dissent in the semi-autonomous territory.
Schallenberg said it was doubtful that such a diplomatic
boycott would benefit the average Chinese much. “Let’s keep things in
proportion.”
Baerbock insisted that China would still remain an important
partner to solve global challenges like the climate crisis.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said the problem
was the EU nations that failed to launch a successful bid for the Winter Games.
Stockholm and Krakow, Poland, were two EU cities that
withdrew bids, while Munich rejected it in a voter referendum. “So we also have
to realize that it is indirectly our fault,” that the games went to Beijing
instead.
Asselborn also backed the position of French President
Emmanuel Macron, who said last Friday that “the pain such a boycott could
inflict was questionable.”