Strip China of Olympic Winter Games over Uighurs, say Canada MPs

The move came as Canada’s parliament declared that China was committing genocide against the Uighurs

LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS

Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent | Charlie Mitchell, Ottawa

Wednesday February 24 2021, 12.01am GMT, The Times

International alarm over China’s treatment of its Uighur minority is coalescing around the 2022 Winter Olympics after Canada’s parliament voted for it to be stripped of the games.

The motion, which throws down the gauntlet to the government of Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, follows mounting calls for a boycott among western allies.

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, refused to rule out a boycott but said that such a decision would be taken with “fellow democracies”, including Australia, New Zealand and Britain, the three other members of the “Five Eyes” Anglophone alliance.