Scott Morrison confirms Australia will follow the US and not send diplomats to Beijing

Scott Morrison has announced Australia will join the US in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games. Now China has responded.

Scott Morrison has confirmed Australia will follow the lead of the US on a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Australia has been slammed for being a “lackey” of the US after Scott Morrison announced he would be following in Joe Biden’s footsteps and implementing a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Following the announcement, the communist party backed media outlet the Global Times tweeted a cartoon of a kangaroo holding a balloon bearing the US flag with the caption: No. 1 US lackey.

#Comment: No.1 US lackey 👏👏 https://t.co/IiHIZ6rNWDpic.twitter.com/evqTCdfiXj

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) December 8, 2021

China’s embassy in Canberra also joined in on the pile on, insisting the announcement would not help mend relations between the two nations.

“The blame for the current predicament of China-Australia relations lies squarely on the Australian side,” a Chinese embassy spokesperson said.

“The Australian side‘s statement that it will not send officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics runs counter to its publicly pronounced expectation to improve China-Australia relations.”

Australian athletes will still be able to attend the games but diplomats and politicians will be told to stay at home.

That includes Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, whose attendance at the Tokyo Olympics earlier in the year raised eyebrows.

Speaking in Sydney, Mr Morrison said the breakdown of the relationship between Australia and China was a cause of concern and the ongoing human rights abuses against the Uyghur community.

“The human rights abuses in Xinjiang and many other issues that Australia has consistently raised, we have been very pleased and very happy to talk to the Chinese Government about these issues and there’s been no obstacle to that occurring on our side

“But the Chinese Government has consistently not accepted those opportunities for us to meet about these issues.

“So it is not surprising, therefore, that Australian Government officials would, therefore, not be going to China for those Games. Australian athletes will, though.”

Scott Morrison said the decision was Australia taking a stand against human rights abuses. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Earlier this week, the US announced a diplomatic boycott of the Games.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said it was about sending a “clear message” to China.

“The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics games given the PRC’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” she said.

But he vowed to keep the issues of sport and politics separate.

“I very much separate the issues of sport and these political issues,” Mr Morrison said.

“But Australia will not step back from the strong position we have in standing up for Australia’s interests.”

Approximately 40 athletes are expected to be sent by the AOC to the Beijing games. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

In a statement, Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll was lukewarm on the announcement, seeking to alleviate concerns athletes could be impacted.

“We are heartened by the Prime Minister’s support for our Team and we thank the government for its assistance with arrangements to ensure our athletes can travel to Beijing and represent their country with pride,” he said.

“Our Australian athletes have been training and competing with this Olympic dream for four years now and we are doing everything in our power to ensure we can help them succeed.

“Human rights are extremely important, but the considered view of diplomats is that keeping channels of communication open is far more impactful than shutting them down,” Mr Carroll said.

Steven Bradbury won Australia’s first ever gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

The man who brought home Australia’s first ever Winter Games gold, Steven Bradbury, warned the boycott should not come at the expense of the athletes.

“The world’s stand on China has changed significantly in the last few years, and I believe that we do need to stand up to them, for sure,” he told Sky News.

“But athletes should definitely not suffer for that. Athletes should not be used as pawns in a political game.”

Originally published as Scott Morrison confirms Australia will follow the US and not send diplomats to Beijing