Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian called on Japan on Thursday to back the Beijing Olympic Games this winter despite the United States and several other countries considering a diplomatic boycott of the event
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2021) Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian called on Japan on Thursday to back the Beijing Olympic Games this winter despite the United States and several other countries considering a diplomatic boycott of the event.
On Sunday, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said that Tokyo would make an autonomous decision about participation in the Winter Olympics in Beijing, scheduled February 4-20, 2022. Meanwhile, some members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party reportedly addressed the government with a request to boycott due to protracted territorial and human rights issues.
"China has lent full support to Japan's hosting of the Tokyo Olympic Games. Japan should not break its faith," Zhao told reporters, as quoted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Earlier in the day, Australian media reported that Canberra is not ruling out the possibility of boycotting the Olympics over concerns about the well-being of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, after she accused Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault and went off the radar. Last week, the United States and the United Kingdom announced their readiness to boycott the games.
Zhao said on Monday that Beijing strongly opposes politicization of sports, as well as violations of the Olympic Charter, when commenting on speculations about a possible boycott.
The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics ran from July 23 to August 8, 2021.
