Source: Reuters on Twitter, 9/12/2021

OTTAWA, Dec 8 (Reuters) — Canada will join its allies in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in February to send China a message over its human rights record, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday.

“We have been very clear over the past many years of our deep concerns around human rights violations and this is a continuation of us expressing our deep concerns,” Trudeau said, sending a strong message to Beijing.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Canada in a written statement accused Trudeau of making false claims.

“Based on ideological biases as well as lies and rumors, Canada and a handful of western countries have been flagrantly engaged in political maneuvering, with the attempt to disrupt the smooth progress of Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Their clumsy performance can hardly find any support and is doomed to fail,” the spokesperson said.

Australia and Britain will join the diplomatic boycott, their prime ministers said on Wednesday, as other allies weighed similar moves to protest at China’s human rights record. China denies all rights abuses.

The United States calls genocide against minority Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region. China denies all rights abuses.