US lawmakers are increasingly calling for a boycott or reorganization of the incident, and are criticizing several large US companies for saying their silence is making them complicit with China over events deemed to be genocide against the Uyghurs.
In a bipartisan congressional hearing, Pelosi called on heads of state in each country to stay away from the event as part of a diplomatic boycott. Pelosi also added that, in his view, anyone participating in the event would no longer have a moral legal basis to make any statement on human rights.
The Republican lawmaker who chaired the meeting said corporate sponsors should be called to a congressional hearing and held accountable because he said business representatives only want to make profits, but that doesn’t distract them at any cost. Other speakers said the Olympic Games should be postponed, as was the case with the Tokyo Olympics, until the International Olympic Committee (IOC) could find another host country for the event.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington also responded to Pelosi’s words, saying that any American attempt to interfere in China’s internal affairs when it comes to the Olympics is doomed to failure.
The idea of boycotting the Beijing Olympics is not new. Senator Mitt Romney, for example, put forward a proposal last month, and several human rights activists have already asked athletes to stay away from the event and put pressure on the International Olympic Committee. . At the moment, the official position of the United States is that the United States will talk to its allies about the Olympics, but Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has repeatedly indicated that no talks have taken place on this issue yet.
However, some do not consider it fair to punish athletes for actions committed by China, not to mention that the United States tends to win the most medals in games overall.
Cover photo source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
