The Winter Olympics in Beijing have finished, and one of the lead headlines was that several nations opted not to send any government representatives, mostly in protest of alleged human rights abuses by the Chinese Government against the Uyghur population in Western China's Xinjiang region.
The United States instigated the diplomatic boycott, shortly joined by Canada, Australia, the UK, India, Lithuania, Kosovo, Belgium, Denmark and Estonia. Athletes from these countries are still allowed to compete. France and South Korea have said they will not be participating in the diplomatic boycott.
The International Olympic Committee has always maintained its political neutrality however the Olympics have often been used to make political statements, such as the boycotting of the Moscow Olympics in 1980 during the height of the Cold War.
This week on Michelson Alexander Expains... we explore the diplomatic boycotts and whether they are likely to achieve anything.
HOSTS: Steve Michelson, Founder & Director of Michelson Alexander; Elyse Gatt, Senior Associate & Jack Banister, Head of Content
