The European Parliament on Thursday (July 8) called on the European Union to boycott the February 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing unless China improves the human rights situation in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, where the Uighur Muslim minority resides.
The parliamentary vote is another sign of the deterioration of relations between Brussels and Beijing. In May of this year, the two sides imposed a series of tit-for-tat sanctions on China’s human rights record, effectively preventing the approval of the bilateral investment agreement. .
This non-binding resolution was passed with 578 votes in favor, 29 votes against, and 73 abstentions. It was supported by all mainstream political groups in Europe, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right EPP group and France’s Emma. Newell Macron’s centrist Renew Group.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection calls on EU institutions and member states to “refuse to invite government representatives and diplomats to participate in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics unless the Chinese government proves that the human rights situation in Hong Kong, Xinjiang Uyghur areas, Tibet, and inland areas has been provably improved.” . Mongolia and other parts of China”.
For various reasons, when the government refused to send athletes, officials, and spectators to the host country, a total boycott of the Olympics has occurred several times, most notably when the US leadership boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
However, experts say it is difficult to measure the success of the boycott. Some people warned that in the case of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, it may be more difficult to obtain concessions from China, and stated that participating countries should use the Olympics to draw attention to China’s human rights violations.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned that it will make a “strong response” to any boycotts, which may involve the suspension of bilateral negotiations in international forums or economic pressure on companies that are sponsors of sports events.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that China firmly opposes the politicization of sports and opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs under the pretext of human rights issues. statement.
“Politically motivated, attempting to interfere, obstruct, or disrupt the preparation and holding of the Beijing Winter Olympics is extremely irresponsible and will only harm the interests of athletes from various countries and the international Olympic cause.”
Human rights and sanctions
The European Parliament resolution also condemned the closure of the Hong Kong democrat Apple Daily and the arrest of its staff by the Chinese authorities in the “strongest” manner.
It said that these actions “are another step that China has taken in dismantling Hong Kong’s free society and ultimately ending Hong Kong’s media freedom and freedom of speech.”
The resolution stated that under China’s stringent Hong Kong security laws, the deterioration of freedom amounts to a “human rights emergency”.
Hong Kong’s national security law broke the trust between Europe and Beijing, “leading to further damage to Beijing’s credibility on the international stage.”
Members of the European Parliament emphasized that “the EU needs to take urgent and resolute action” and called on Brussels to formulate a new round of sanctions against the Chinese authorities.
“It is clear that many EU member states and the European Commission are reluctant to publicly oppose China’s repressive measures in Hong Kong,” said Reinhard Bütikofer, a member of the German Green European Parliament and chairman of the European Parliament’s Chinese delegation.
“The European Parliament has a very strong consensus on these issues. We will work hard to ensure that European member governments also take an unrelenting stand,” said Bütikofer, who helped to take the lead in proposing non-binding resolutions.
The resolution also confirmed the earlier decision to block the EU-China investment agreement, as long as China’s sanctions on members of the European Parliament and scholars are in place.
The agreement has always been considered an opportunity for European companies, especially German and French companies to open up China’s huge economy.
EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis announced in May that after the two sides imposed tit-for-tat sanctions, efforts to win approval for a proposed large-scale investment agreement with China had effectively “suspended” “.
China stated that sanctions were a reasonable response after the EU took punitive measures against Chinese officials for allegations of human rights violations.
[Edited by Frédéric Simon]
