The US Government has announced a diplomatic boycott of Olympics 2022. The Olympics 2022 is to be held in Beijing. The US cited that “China’s human rights ATTROCITIES” is the main reason for its boycott. However, the US will allow its athletes to compete in the games.
What does Diplomatic Boycott Mean?
Diplomatic boycott of Olympics 2022 means that the US is not sending any diplomatic or official representation to participate in the Olympics but that U.S. athletes will still be allowed to compete.
Why is the US boycotting Olympics 2022?
U.S. government officials will boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because of China's human rights "atrocities",
The US is boycotting the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing because of the following China's human rights "atrocities":
• Chinese aggression toward Taiwan and situation in Tibet
• The crackdown in Hong Kong
• Ongoing genocide and abuse of minority Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang area
US Previously boycotted in 1980
Previously, the US completely boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. All the athletes were pulled from the games. At that time the boycott was to protest the Soviet Union military presence in Afghanistan. In December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan supporting the Afghan communist government. The soviet troops then remained in Afghanistan until 1989. In 1980, around 65 countries refused to participate in the Summer Olympics along with the US. They included China, Japan, Canada, Israel and West Germany.
What is the issue?
China is hosting both Summer and Winter Olympics. This is the first time in the Olympics history that a country is hosting both Summer and Winter Olympics. The Summer and Winter Olympics are held once in four years. The Summer Olympics is generally referred to as Olympics with more number of countries participating. On the other hand, the Winter Olympics is a relatively smaller event. The summer Olympics are held once in four years, mainly during the leap years. The winter Olympics are held two years after the leap year. The Summer Olympics were held in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, etc. And the Winter Olympics were held in 2002, 2006, 2010, etc. China hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008 and is now to host the Winter Olympics in 2022.
How is China hosting both Summer and Winter Olympics?
Around six potential cities of Europe dropped out of the bidding due to doping scandal. Also, the price tag of 51 billion USD also drove away bidders. This led to getting down to two candidates. One was China and the other was Kazakhstan.
How is Olympic host city chosen?
The major cities from the world make competitive bids every two years to the International Olympics Committee. This is done seven years before the games. The IOC then makes rigorous audits to check if the city bided is capable to host the games. This is because, the city has to accommodate large number of sports person, government delegates, should provide security, etc. Based on these factors and the bidding, the members cast their votes. The winning city hosts the games.
Source: gktoday.in
