According to The Times, the UK government is considering a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing next year. At the same time, UK athletes will still attend the event. There is an active discussion within the UK government on whether to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, the newspaper reports. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly supports this idea. UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss is among the most strong proponents of the boycott: she accuses China of violations of human rights. However, not all government members are in favor of this political move. Some say that British ministers and officials will not attend the Games, while the ambassador to China will. Five members of the Conservative Party particularly advocate for the boycott. In their letter to Boris Johnson, they urged him to ban the UK diplomatic representation at the Winter Olympics in Beijing and reminded him of two UK MPs sanctioned by China early this year. The reaction of the Chinese officials was mixed. According to Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian, “politicization of sports goes against the Olympic spirit and harms the interests of athletes from all countries.”
