Panel to US govt: Don't send officials to Beijing

WASHINGTON • A United States government commission on Wednesday urged the Biden administration not to send officials to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing religious persecution including China's repression of Uighur Muslims, which Washington has labelled genocide.

President Joe Biden's administration signalled earlier this year that it had no plans to bar American athletes from participating in the Beijing Games.

But calls from lawmakers and activists have been mounting for a coordinated diplomatic boycott, in which athletes would compete but government representatives would shun the Games.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in an annual report, encouraged Washington to continue to impose targeted financial and visa sanctions on Chinese government agencies and officials responsible for "systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations". It also recommended that the US government publicly state that "officials will not attend the games if the Chinese government's crackdown on religious freedom continues".

Activists and United Nations rights experts say at least a million Muslims have been detained in camps in China's Xinjiang region. They accuse China of using torture, forced labour and sterilisations, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken upheld an earlier Trump administration determination that the abuses constituted genocide.

China has repeatedly denied all accusations of abuse and says its camps offer vocational training and are needed to fight extremism.

Shortly after the commission's report was published, Republican Senator Mitt Romney introduced an amendment to legislation to counter China that would implement a US diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games, saying it was "jarring and outrageous" that a country would be allowed to host an Olympic Games while committing genocide.

"The amendment calls for a diplomatic boycott, such that we will not be sending any diplomats to participate in the Olympic experience there," he said.

After weeks of negotiations, a Senate committee on Wednesday overwhelmingly backed the broader Bill pressing Beijing on human rights and economic competition.

State Department spokesman Ned Price told a news briefing that it considered the commission's conclusions, but that it was an independent federal body that did not clear its report with any government agency or department.

Earlier this month, White House spokesman Jen Psaki said the US had not discussed a joint boycott with allies and partners.

A National Security Council spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday that there had been no change in the administration's stance on the issue.

REUTERS