Nations Boycotting Beijing Winter Olympic Games Will ‘Pay The Price’, Warns China

As Canada became the latest addition to the nations which have decided to diplomatically boycott Beijing Winter Olympic Games which are to be held next year, China has said that nations boycotting will ‘pay the price’. Canada joined Australia, Britain, and the United States in the boycott.

On the other hand, Beijing has called the boycotts a “political posturing” and a smear campaign. The USA was the first nation to announce the boycott this week, saying on Monday its government officials would not attend February’s Beijing Olympics because of China’s human rights “atrocities”. The decision comes after weeks of talks aimed at easing tense relations between the world`s two largest economies.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Beijing would be aware of long-standing Western concerns about human rights in China. “(So) it shouldn`t be a surprise that we decided not to send diplomatic representation.”

Trudeau`s decision has added fuel to fire to a relationship already strained over the detention of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on a US warrant. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Canada accused Trudeau of making false claims.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday that they will join the US and will boycott the Olympic games to protest China’s human rights record. According to some reports, Japan will not send cabinet members to the Beijing Winter Olympics after the United States announced its diplomatic boycott. Other countries could follow the boycott.