Winter Olympics - Diplomatic Boycott

I'm confused (not hard at the best of times).

Earlier this week, the Strayan Gummint joined the land of the free & others in a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games early next year - ie no OS holiday for a few pollies.

Canada and UK join diplomatic boycott of Winter Olympics

Yesterday, we were told that the Oz delegation hadn't been invited & no-one cares - all well and good.

Today it's a different story and there'll be consequences

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-09/australia-will-pay-the-price-for-winter-olympics-boycott/100688502

Sheesh, make up your minds - if you're not invited to a party & show up regardless, you're a gate crasher but if you're not invited & say that you're not going, you face economic sanctions?

 

Interestingly China are picking on Australia and U.S., although multiple countries are not attending ... including NZ ... with no blow back.

The difference is the other countries simply said "we're not going" without making it political. Instead saying it wasn't feasible due to covid restrictions etc.

Our government cannot help themselves but cause unnecessary issues

 

Boycott Scott Morrison!

He made his decision regarding China without saying anything to the Australian people. Only after did he say the Australian people should not be surprised by his decision.

Well most people will not be surprised that Morrison is the lap dog of the US. If he is worried about human right abuses in China then why not ban all trade with China and find other markets?

Keep politics out of sport.

 

I voted it's above politics..
Some of those people have trained for years ..

 

Both the athletes and politicians should travel to China.
Only the athletes get a return ticket.

 

And not their S & C / Coaches?

 

China have made it about sport by "disappearing" a international tennis layer who made assault allegations against a party official. Their human rights abuses have no limits... Millions of Uighars are disappeared too maybe to prisons. They may be detained in labour camps. A return to the days of Hitler and Stalin?

Lithuania went far further than ScoMo.

China reverses customs restrictions on Lithuania after representations from the European Union

 

A lot of countries went a further than Australia with no backlash.

ScoMo just turns these announcements into a big "shirt front" insulting hoohaa. He wouldn't know diplomacy if it bricked him over the head

China's human rights is horrific ... but there are ways, and there are ways of achieving change

 

The Chinese official said it best when he said something along the lines of "Nobody cares whether Australian diplomats attend the Olympics or not". The athletes should still go.

 

The fault lies with the governing bodies that 'award' (sell) major sporting events to host countries with human rights issues etc.
E.g. Football World Cup in Qatar and Russia, F1 in Saudi Arabia, Olympics in Russia and China.

Boycott the sponsors of the events and of these utterly contemptible governing bodies, and make a very loud noise about it. Make the potential loss of revenue & marketing appeal greater than the gains from bribery. Money is the only leverage.

 

It must be a horrible feeling for the athletes - Imagine training for 4 years, in a sport that you likely dont get much income for, only for you to be told, "You can't play" at the very last minute.

 

Agreed @JetstreamVic

I recall the uncertainty and angst the Zika virus caused leading into Rio 2016 (ah, the days when a virus could be stopped with bug spray...).

Then obviously the 2020 delay and reschedule.

I actually can imagine the utter fury and heart-break to be told NO GO because of a bunch of old, mostly men in suits making bad decisions politics.