The Denver Gazette

Biden’s China Olympics boycott good but not enough

THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter responded to the Soviet’s invasion of and refusal to leave Afghanistan by leading other nations in a full boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympics. … China’s current activities go far beyond what the Soviets did by invading Afghanistan in the 1980s. Indeed, they are more reminiscent of another late and unlamented regime that we hesitate to mention by name.

President Joe Biden has made the correct decision in announcing a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics. It is a positive first step to see that the administration will not be sending personnel to appear there in their official capacity.

After all, it would be unseemly to have Secretary of State Antony Blinken cavorting with Chinese officials at a time when they are committing genocide in Xinjiang, violating their international obligation to preserve democracy in Hong Kong, and aggressively intimidating Taiwan and other maritime neighbors with transparently bogus territorial claims.

Unfortunately, Biden is not going far enough.

He must be prevailed upon to follow the path of a predecessor who was faced with the bad behavior of another Olympic host.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter responded to the Soviet’s invasion of and refusal to leave Afghanistan by leading other nations in a full boycott of the Moscow Summer Olympics. The Soviet leadership was counting on the world community to shy away from such a drastic measure as it had done when the Soviets invaded and brutally repressed protests in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968.

Carter, who is remembered for a lot of what went wrong in the late 1970s, did the right thing.

And it should be noted that another one of the countries boycotting the Olympics that year was the People’s Republic of China.

China’s current activities go far beyond what the Soviets did by invading Afghanistan in the 1980s. Indeed, they are more reminiscent of another late and unlamented regime that we hesitate to mention by name.

The decision to boycott such an important sporting event would not be easy on the athletes who have spent years in preparation for the Olympics. But their feelings cannot be put before the reality of genocide. China’s atrocities cry out to heaven, and it keeps committing them without any signs of regret or hesitation.

The disagreements between the West and China are not minor trade disagreements. They are not cultural differences or diplomatic squabbles. They are not complaints about currency or tariffs or any other such paltry question.

Rather, China’s genocide in Xinjiang is a crime against humanity. It involves the mass imprisonment of millions. It is, in essence, a flagrant attempt to erase the culture of an entire ethnic minority within its borders. This, on its own, is sufficient grounds not only for ostracizing Chinese diplomats but also for refusing to give China’s communist government the propaganda victory of a successful Olympics.

So, yes, Biden has done something good. But it is the absolute minimum he can do. If he wants to be remembered as a president who addressed human rights issues instead of cowering and avoiding them, he must boycott the games and urge other nations to do so as well.

EDITORIAL

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2021-12-08T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-08T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.denvergazette.com/article/281891596568754

The Gazette, Colorado Springs