London, England — "It's up to Britain and democratic states across the world to send a clear message to Beijing: we will not turn a blind eye to the abuses in the Uyghur Region, Tibet, and Hong Kong, and we will not let you score a major propaganda victory at the Winter Olympics,” said MP Loughton while voting for the boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
The British Parliament has unanimously voted to stage a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics which are to be held in Beijing, China in 2022.
The British government was unanimously called to boycott the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. It was argued that the multi-sport event should not be held in a "country whose government is credibly accused of mass atrocity crimes," referring to the human rights violations occurring in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
MP Tim Loughton, a member of the cross-party Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) led the debate motion and was supported by all major opposing parties. The British government was called on by the MPs to not send any representatives such as members of the royal family and diplomats to the Games.
The motion spoke about the accusations of mass atrocity crimes in the Uyghur Region and referred to the Chinese government sanctions on UK citizens. Those sanctioned included MP Tim Loughton himself and four other members of the IPAC.
"The government, on the one hand, speaks of industrial-scale human rights abuses taking place in the Uyghur Region, and on the other pursues ever deeper trade links with Beijing – even allowing our largest semiconductor manufacturer to be snapped up by a Chinese owned firm. It’s time for the government to stop sending mixed messages to Beijing and to toughen up on its response to the Chinese government’s abuses,” asserted MP Loughton.
He mentioned that China's promise of improving its human rights record after being offered the Winter Olympics in 2008 "was a sham." "Authoritarian regimes have a long and troubling history of using the Olympics to whitewash their crimes and spread their propaganda on a global scale. The Chinese Communist Party knows this and so far is getting away with it," his motion read.
The Labour Party MP Graham Singer said that this event should be referred to as the "Genocide Games" by international communities. "Beijing hopes to use the Games as a chance to detract from the egregious abuses in the Uyghur Region and its brutal crackdown in Hong Kong. The Labour Party has made it clear that unless China doesn’t allow the UN unfettered access to Xinjiang, UK Government representatives and dignitaries should stay away,” Labour Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, MP Afzal Khan said.
"It's up to Britain and democratic states across the world to send a clear message to Beijing: we will not turn a blind eye to the abuses in the Uyghur Region, Tibet, and Hong Kong, and we will not let you score a major propaganda victory at the Winter Olympics," emphasized MP Loughton following the debate.
