FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 6th, 2021
Contacts:
Jacob Kessler | Students for a Free Tibet | +1 516-776-6472 | Jacob@studentsforafreetibet.org (English and Tibetan)
We welcome the announcement today by President Joe Biden that the United States government will boycott the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and we call on all like-minded governments to do the same or risk endorsing China’s gross human rights abuses.
President Biden made a commitment to boycott the Beijing 2022 [1] Winter Games in a statement today [2] confirming that no US dignitaries or officials will attend the opening or closing ceremonies due to the Chinese government’s ongoing human rights abuses.
This statement of courage and leadership is a testament to the tireless work of Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hongkongers, Southern Mongolians, Taiwanese and Chinese people, among others, who have been working tirelessly to urge governments, sponsors, and broadcasters to withdraw support for Beijing 2022. [3] Not only does this high profile move show solidarity with impacted communities, who have faced the momentous escalation of repression that followed the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, it also sets an example for other governments to follow.
While we welcome the announcement by the US as an important first step in ensuring that the international community stops legitimising the Chinese government’s genocide and crimes against humanity, we continue to urge governments around the world to take further bilateral and multilateral action.
Over the past year, several parliaments have voted overwhelmingly in favour of government boycotts or acknowledgments of China’s mass human rights atrocities. In the light of President Biden’s announcement, we are now expecting the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, and the European Union to take immediate action and commit to rejecting invitations to the opening and closing ceremonies of Beijing 2022 on human rights grounds.
Signed:
Mandie McKeown, Executive Director, International Tibet Network – on behalf of:
Dorjee Tseten, Students for a Free Tibet
Dolkun Isa, World Uyghur Congress
Frances Hui, We The Hongkongers
Rushan Abbas, Campaign for Uyghurs
Jenny Wang, Keep Taiwan Free
Tashi Shitsetsang , Tibetan Youth Association Europe
John Jones, Free Tibet
Dr Zoe Bedford, Australia Tibet Council
Teng Biao, China Against the Death Penalty
周锋锁 Zhou Fengsuo, Humanitarian China
Mattias Bjornerstedt, Swedish Tibet Committee
Bhuchung Tsering, International Campaign for Tibet
Lhadon Tethong, Tibet Action Institute
Omer Kanat, Uyghur Human Rights Project
Enghebatu Togochog, Southern Mongolian Human Rights Center