(Sports news) Following the United States’ announcement of a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that his country will follow suit and not send any officials to China citing human rights violations in Xinjiang and Beijing freezing out ministerial contact with Australia.

"Australia will not step back from the strong position we've had standing up for Australia's interests and obviously it is of no surprise that we wouldn't be sending Australian officials to those Games," Morrison said. The decision takes place a day after the United States announced a diplomatic boycott for China’s genocide against the Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region and other human rights abuses which prompted Beijing to tell the US that they would “pay the price”.

The move was welcomed by the Human Rights Watch China director Sophie Richardson who called it a “crucial step toward challenging the Chinese government's crimes against humanity targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic communities". It is estimated that at least one million Uyghurs and Turkic speaking Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in Xinjiang with reports of forcibly sterlising women and forced labour also coming out of China. Beijing has defended their actions by calling it vocational training centers and measures to curb Islamic extremism.

The relations between Australia and China have been strained in recent years with Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying they have “always been open” to discussions with China despite their attempts being rebuffed. He said “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," he said. Australia's a great sporting nation and I very much separate the issues of sport and these other political issues. They're issues between two governments, and I would like to see those issues resolved."

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said it would not impact the team's preparations. :The AOC is very focused on ensuring that team members are able to safely travel to China given the complexity of the Covid environment, with our athletes departing from overseas locations," AOC chief executive Matt Carroll said. Getting the athletes to Beijing safely, competing safely and bringing them home safely remains our greatest challenge."

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