China’s 2022 Olympics a chance to press Beijing on human rights, says Canada

Beijing’s hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics has made nations concerned and the chance to press China on its human rights record, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday.

Trudeau said China would only amend its behavior if faced with a united front, adding he would raise the issue at a Group of Seven leaders’ summit next week.

“The pressure on China right now from the international community is significantly acute, particularly with the Winter Olympics coming up in China next year,” stated Trudeau in an interview.

“It would be easy for China to shrug off what any one country, including just the United States alone, says. But when the global community comes together, that starts to shape their own calculations.”

There is a major diplomatic and trade dispute between Canada and China for more than two years, is one of the world’s leading winter sports nations.

The Canadian Olympic Committee opposes a boycott, saying it would not force a change to China’s human rights record.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month called for a U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Games next year, citing the State Department’s conclusion that genocide of Uyghur’s and other ethnic minorities are taking place in China.

Canada’s parliament passed a nonbinding motion in February saying China’s treatment of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang district establishes genocide.

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