US Diplomats Boycott Olympics As Xi & Putin Blink?

China cries “foul” as Pres Biden declares a “diplomatic” boycott of the Olympic Games in Beijing, but does the PRC really care if America’s spies stay home & gives world’s 2 biggest dictators a free-hand in brainwashing other nations’ spies?

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called out the PRC’s ongoing suppression of the Uyghurs, a Muslim minority group, in what has been described as slave labor camps. But while the boycott sidelines U.S. officials from attending the games, it leaves America’s athletes free do so as always, if “without the fanfare”. Meanwhile, Beijing called the U.S. boycott a “politicizing” of the Olympic “spirit” & warned the “insult to 1.4 billion Chinese” might trigger “resolute countermeasures” … as if, China isn’t ALWAYS sending cow chips our way. So much for Biden’s détente without Trump gumming up the works? As the WSJ noted, several U.S. allies have been “considering” also keeping its officials at home, not only because of the Uyghur controversy, but China’s perceived bullying of Hong Kong & Taiwan. Still, their silence after Biden took the plunge is deafening.

While an always sensitive China is clearly bummed by the U.S. robbing it of a golden PR moment needed to counter a steady bad PR over its highly-criticized human rights record, the question remains how irritated they really are. Note, the ever-opportunistic Beijing will be welcoming the Russian delegation, including President Vladimir Putin, who will likely meet with fellow dictator President Xi Jinping; together, they will undoubtedly be “working the foreign referees” in their midst. As they say, birds of a feather will fly together still …

Davd Soul