U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) earlier this week urged President Joe Biden to boycott the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
“The United States simply cannot in good faith participate in an Olympic Games in a country that is committing genocide and continuously attempts to manipulate and lie to the global community about such atrocities,” Rep. Katko wrote in a Feb. 22 letter sent to the president.
The congressman said the United States must stand up and defend its commitment to human rights and the rule of law, noting that the actions taken by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are antithetical to the values of both the U.S. and its allies across the globe.
“Participation in an Olympics held in a country that is openly committing genocide not only undermines those shared values but casts a shadow on the promise for all those who seek free and just societies,” wrote Rep. Katko, ranking member of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee.
The lawmaker cited a January report released by the U.S. State Department that said “since at least March 2017, local [CCP] authorities dramatically escalated their decades-long campaign of repression against Uyghur Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups.” He wrote that the document goes on to detail “an exhaustive investigation” that points to ongoing and heinous crimes being prosecuted upon the Uyghur minority.
“Mr. President, the evidence is clear — the CCP is deliberately and systematically working to eliminate an entire population within its own borders. In doing so, it expects the rest of the world to be silent and, in the case of business operations and global supply chains, complicit in these actions,” Rep. Katko wrote. “I urge you to take action by working with our partners and allies to lead the free nations of the planet in a unified movement to hold this honored contest amongst nations in a country that actually lives up to the values of the Olympic Charter.”