and other Western democracies will decline to send government officials to the games in protest over China’s treatment of Turkic Muslim Uyghurs and other minority groups, along with civil society and human rights activists.
Athletes, staff and journalists will be confined to bubbles for the duration of the competition, which will take place at three far-flung locations in downtown Beijing, its suburb of Yanqing, and neighboring Hebei province.Īlong with logistical and health concerns, China faces the prospect that the U.S. “I’m fully confident that the Winter Olympics will be held as scheduled, smoothly and successfully,” Zhao said, citing China’s experience in largely controlling widespread infections since the pandemic began in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019.Ĭhina maintains some of the world’s strictest anti-virus travel restrictions and has said it will not allow overseas spectators at the games. The new variant is the latest challenge facing the games, which have taken criticism over the lack of natural snow in the Chinese capital, the country’s human rights record, and tennis star Peng Shuai’s recent accusations of sexual assault against a former top leader of the ruling Communist Party.Īt a daily briefing on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said omicron would “certainly bring some challenges in terms of prevention and control.”
BEIJING (AP) - China says the omicron variant of the coronavirus is a concern for organizers of the Beijing Winter Olympics but it remains confident the games will be held as scheduled in February.
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