WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) today released the following statement after the Biden Administration announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
“Authoritarian regimes have a long history of using the Olympics to whitewash human rights abuses, and the U.S. should do everything in its power to prevent the CCP from pocketing this massive propaganda victory. For the millions of the CCP’s victims – and for the health and safety of U.S. athletes – a diplomatic boycott is not enough. Through its outrageous actions in the Peng Shuai case, the IOC is complicit in the CCP’s crimes and has lost all credibility to guarantee the well-being of our athletes in China. There should be a full boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics.”
Earlier this year, Rep. Gallagher wrote to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee expressing concerns about potential health risks over sending U.S. athletes to Beijing, given the CCP’s lack of transparency surrounding COVID-19 outbreaks in the country.
In 2019, Gallagher called for the IOC to rebid the Olympics in light of the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang.
