Australia will not send officials to February’s Winter Olympics in Beijing, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday, joining a US diplomatic boycott of the Games.
Canberra’s decision comes as discord with China over a slew of issues that has plunged relations into the most serious crisis since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.
Morrison also cited human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Beijing’s freeze on 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.