Why are countries boycotting the Beijing Olympics? Here’s what you need to know
Global News
China's extensive resume of alleged human rights violations has culminated a call to boycott the Olympics that are slated to take place in the country next year. Here's why.
Canada has joined the United States, the U.K. and Australia in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics on Wednesday, adding its voice to the chorus of countries taking a stand against China’s human rights violations ahead of the global competition.
But the voices most intimately impacted by China’s human rights abuses say that while it’s a “positive step,” it’s “not enough.”
“Active genocide is taking place,” said Mehmet Tohti, a Uyghur Canadian activist.
Global Affairs has acknowledged “mounting evidence” suggests the Uyghur ethnic group has been facing “systemic, state-led human rights violations by Chinese authorities” in the Xinjiang region.
China has also cracked down on dissident voices in Hong Kong, and is alleged to be forcing Tibetans into a sort of residential school system designed to strip them of their culture.
The laundry list of alleged human rights violations has culminated in this latest call for a boycott of the Winter Olympics, which are slated to take place in China next year.
Here’s what you need to know about that push.
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics have become a flashpoint in the escalating global tensions that surround the country’s widespread human rights violations.