British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Wednesday that there would be "effectively a diplomatic boycott" of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Later on Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced one as well. The announcement follows similar ones made by the United States, Australia, and Lithuania.
As with the United States and Australia, British and Canadian athletes will be allowed to compete, but no officials will attend the event. "We do not support sporting boycotts," said Johnson of the decision.
"As a country, indeed, as many partners around the world, we are extremely concerned by the repeated human rights violations by the Chinese government. That is why we are announcing today that we will not be sending any diplomatic representation to the Beijing Olympic or Paralympic Games this winter," said Trudeau.
After the United States made its announcement earlier this week, the word "boycott" was reportedly banned in online searches in China, signaling that the decision is making Beijing nervous.
