Olympic boycotts

16 Stories

After Getting Visa Applications, China Questions US Boycott

Biden administration says it's sending help for athletes and coaches, but not diplomats

(Newser) - Given that the Biden administration earlier this month announced a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics, China is asking why it's receiving visa applications for US government employees. That can be explained, the US answered: Those applications are for consular and security officers—not diplomats or high-ranking officials, the...

As Diplomatic Boycott Grows, China Jabs: 'Nobody Cares'

Britain, UK, Canada will do as the US is doing with the Olympics

(Newser) - Update: Add Canada to the list of nations instituting a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games. "We are extremely concerned by the repeated human rights violations by the Chinese government," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in announcing the boycott Wednesday, per the AP . Our original story from ...

US Confirms Diplomatic Boycott of Beijing Games

White House cites 'ongoing genocide' in Xinjiang

(Newser) - The US government will protest China's human rights abuses with a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics, meaning American athletes will go to Beijing but President Biden and other officials will stay away, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Monday. The Biden administration will not be sending...

China to US Execs: Push Back Against Olympics Boycott

'The business community cannot make a fortune in silence,' official says

(Newser) - With the Winter Olympics now just two months away, China seems to be getting worried about calls to boycott the Beijing Games—and it has started putting pressure on American companies with close links to the country. In a video conference Tuesday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng urged American...

Report: US Officials to Turn Their Backs on Winter Olympics

Sources say diplomatic boycott of Beijing Games has been formally recommended to Biden

(Newser) - The Biden administration is likely planning a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics in February in response to human rights abuses in China, according to a report. Several sources tell Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin that a formal recommendation has been made to President Biden that the US refrain from...

Sarko Won't Boycott Beijing
 Sarko Won't
 Boycott Beijing 
Jul 9, 2008 9:26 AM CDT

Sarko Won't Boycott Beijing

French president confirms he's going to the games after all

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy is backing off his threats to boycott the Beijing Olympics to protest China’s treatment of Tibet, the BBC reports. Sarkozy met with China’s president at the G8 summit, and now confirms that he will attend the opening ceremony. The French president said he made the decision...

Bush: Olympic Boycott Would Be 'Affront' to Chinese People

Prez says he'll tackle human rights in Beijing

(Newser) - President Bush today defended his decision not to boycott the Beijing Olympics next month, saying skipping “would be an affront to the Chinese people" that would make it difficult "to speak more frankly with the Chinese leadership.” Speaking ahead of tomorrow's G8 meeting in Japan, Bush said...

Bush Will Attend Beijing Opener

President dashes rights groups' hopes of an Olympic opening boycott

(Newser) - The White House has confirmed that President Bush will attend the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics—and he's likely to have plenty of seats to choose from in the VIP box, reports the New York Times. Brit Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will not be...

Sarkozy: 'I Made Some Mistakes'
 Sarkozy: 'I Made Some Mistakes' 
Apr 25, 2008 7:22 AM CDT

Sarkozy: 'I Made Some Mistakes'

Vows to 'stay the course' on French TV

(Newser) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy defended his first year in office in a TV interview but admitted he made mistakes, reports the BBC. It's been a rough debut. His controversial policies—met by fierce opposition in certain sectors— have failed to reverse an economic downturn, and his flashy courtship of model...

Sarko Too Nice to China: Critics

French president assailed for abandoning human-rights concerns

(Newser) - Paris seems to have reversed a tide of anti-French sentiment in China, but critics wonder if President Nicolas Sarkozy’s charm offensive has undermined his country’s commitment to human rights, Der Spiegel reports. Since Sarkozy’s messages of conciliation have gone out, China’s Foreign Ministry has praised the...

US Athletes Reject Boycott of Beijing Games

Sporting trumps politics, even for sympathetic competitors

(Newser) - Many US athletes aren’t swayed by winds of boycott surrounding the Beijing Olympics, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “What's going on is important and we should pay attention to it,” says a 2004 gold medalist, but “we need to be athletes first.”  Despite a...

More Notables Stay Away From Beijing Olympics

Nobel laureate scraps torch relay; UN chief won't attend opening

(Newser) - The controversy around the Olympic flame continued as Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel laureate, announced she was dropping out of the torch relay. Maathai was to carry the torch this weekend in Tanzania but pulled out in protest of China's human rights record. Maathai also told the Los ...

British PM Won't Attend Olympic Opening

Brown insists he's not boycotting, will go to closing ceremony

(Newser) - British PM Gordon Brown will not attend the Beijing Olympics’ opening ceremony, the BBC reports, though his office made clear it was not a boycott. Brown said he never intended to go to the opening and emphasized that that he will be present at the closing ceremony for the torch...

Clinton to Bush: Skip Olympics
 Clinton to Bush: Skip Olympics 
Apr 7, 2008 7:15 PM CDT

Clinton to Bush: Skip Olympics

Candidate cites Darfur and Tibet as reasons not to go

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton urged President Bush today to skip the Beijing Olympics over China's role in the Darfur genocide and violence in Tibet, Politico reports. She joined ranks with Nancy Pelosi in calling for Bush to protest Beijing's human rights record "absent major changes by the Chinese government," Clinton...

West Must Boycott Olympic Venues 'Stained With Blood'

Oppressed Chinese, Tibetans demand no less, French philosopher says

(Newser) - The West must take a stand against China's human-rights abuses by boycotting the Summer Olympics, French philosopher Bernard-Henry Levy insists in the New Republic. Otherwise, athletes will compete in “stadiums stained with blood.” China was supposed to cease its worst behavior, but it’s done the opposite: A...

Sarkozy Dangles Olympic Boycott
Sarkozy Dangles Olympic Boycott
Mar 25, 2008 12:35 PM CDT

Sarkozy Dangles Olympic Boycott

'Open' to skipping opening ceremonies if China-Tibet tensions don't improve

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy says "all options are open" in terms of a possible boycott of the opening ceremonies of Beijing's Olympics. While his aides say that France would oppose a full boycott of the games, the French prez is signaling his discontent with China's recent crackdown in Tibet. "I...

16 Stories