Canada, Australia, and UK join US boycott of Beijing Olympic

Canada has joined Australia, Britain, and the United States in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, with China dismissing the moves as “political posturing” and a smear campaign.

The announcement came after the White House, the Australian government, and the UK government confirmed diplomatic boycotts of the Winter Games in February to protest Chinese human rights abuses. China has vowed to react with “firm countermeasures.” The diplomatic moves by Canada, the U.S., Britain, and Australia do not affect their athletes’ ability to compete in the games. The 2022 Winter Olympics are an upcoming international winter multi-sport event.

This event is scheduled to take place from February 4 to 20, 2022 in Beijing, China. It will be the first Winter Olympics in China as well as the last of three consecutive Olympics which is to be held in East Asia, after the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan.