White House Announces Diplomatic Boycott Of Olympics To Protest Uyghur Genocide

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced on Monday a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics to protest genocide being committed against the Uyghurs and other religious minorities in Xinjiang province:

The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games given the PRC’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses. 

The athletes on Team USA have our full support.  We will be behind them 100 percent as we cheer them on from home.  We will not be contributing to the fanfare of the Games. 

U.S. diplomatic or official representation would treat these Games as business as usual in the face of the PRC’s egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang. And we simply can’t do that. 

As the President has told President Xi, standing up for human rights is in the DNA of Americans.  We have a fundamental commitment to promoting human rights.  And we feel strongly in our position, and we will continue to take actions to advance human rights in China and beyond.

Olympic Village Now Includes Brazilian-African Religions With Others

Crux reported yesterday that in Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro, the interfaith center this year includes priests from the Brazilian-African Candomble and Umbanda faiths.  When the International Olympics Committee initially chose only five official religions-- Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism-- to be represented, Brazil's Federal Public Ministry (at the urging of activists) complained arguing that the religious diversity of the host country needed to be represented.  Brazilian law gives Africa-based religions proportional representation in official activities in the country.