US poised to Announce a *Diplomatic* Boycott of the Olympics

[fred]

"A diplomatic boycott would involve a country refusing to send a political contingent to the Winter Games — scheduled to begin in February — yet allowing its athletes to still participate." So it means there would be no U.S. Participation in the opening ceremonies, for instance, or I assume the closing ceremonies.
I'm glad the athletes are going to still compete. I always get a kick out of beating the U.S. at hockey.
See: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/olympi ... -1.6253703

[Elizabeth]

The President has actually announced it. China is contemplating how to "respond".

[Elizabeth]

The Diplomatic boycott has been joined by several other countries, now including Canada, as announced today.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudea ... -1.6277773

[fred]

Well it makes it simpler. We won't have to wonder who will be the flag bearer. This is to protest "Chinese human rights violations," but it rings kind of hollow today since a British court has ruled that Julian Assange is to be deported to the U.S. for torture and death.
I believe that athletes should individually choose to march in the ceremonies regardless of what country they come from and carry large photos of Julian that can be easily seen by the TV audience. This boycott is a farce. The Chinese record on human rights is far superior to the U.S. record on human rights. I am really angry about this.

[kittykins]

Well it makes it simpler. We won't have to wonder who will be the flag bearer. This is to protest "Chinese human rights violations," but it rings kind of hollow today since a British court has ruled that Julian Assange is to be deported to the U.S. for torture and death.
I believe that athletes should individually choose to march in the ceremonies regardless of what country they come from and carry large photos of Julian that can be easily seen by the TV audience. This boycott is a farce. The Chinese record on human rights is far superior to the U.S. record on human rights. I am really angry about this.

Hi Fred. I don't know how the US compares, but China is horrible in the human rights area and has been for years. People are tortured in prison for their beliefs. I once saw a film about Christians in China and it still haunts me to this day. So, personally I wish they'd delayed the Olympics by a year and held it in an alternative location. Boycotts clearly don't work, whether they are not sending athletes or "diplomatic".

[Elizabeth]

The "diplomatic boycott" means that officials representing the government of the country will not attend the Olympics. A number of countries have announced their intent to join this, the latest being Japan, I believe.

Surely discussion about human rights in China (or other countries), beyond the scope of the Olympic competition, should go somewhere other than this "Skating" section of the board

[fred]

Well, I tend to think of "sections of the board" as guidelines. It's so easy to start talking about something and wind up talking about something else connected to it.