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US wants China visas for 18 officials to attend Winter Olympics, Beijing confirms
- Chinese foreign ministry urges the US to ‘stop politicising sport’, calling boycott a ‘farce’ as it confirms visa applications for 18 American personnel
- The White House on December 6 announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games over China’s human rights record in Xinjiang
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China has confirmed visa applications from US officials planning to visit during the Beijing Winter Olympics, which start February 4.
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The South China Morning Post reported last week that the US government had recently submitted three-month visa applications for 18 people to provide “security support operations” at the Games, just weeks after President Joe Biden indicated he was considering a boycott.
Most of the personnel appeared to be mid-to lower-ranking State Department officials, a source told the Post earlier. Applications for another 40 officials may be in the works, the US side indicated to the Chinese authorities, according to sources.
This comes after Biden in late November confirmed that he was mulling a US diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games and, on December 6, the White House announced it would not send an official US delegation – as a statement against China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang”.
02:29
US announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics, expects other countries to follow
US announces diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics, expects other countries to follow
The Chinese foreign ministry on Monday confirmed the visa applications and said the paperwork would be handled in line with relevant rules and the “principle of reciprocity”.
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