Canada joined Australia and the United Kingdom in following the lead of the United States by announcing a "diplomatic boycott" of the Winter Olympics in Beijing on Wednesday. "It shouldn't be a surprise that we decided not to send diplomatic representation," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, citing concerns about alleged human rights abuses by China.
The move was indeed not a surprise, although his brazenness in citing that excuse may have been to some due to the widely reported human rights violations at residential homes for indigenous children in his own country.
Its jumping on the US' boycott bandwagon simply reflects how eager Canada is to not be left out of the club of Anglo-Saxon powers.
The US was the first to announce the boycott this week, with Australia and the UK quickly following suit. The political posturing, however, will not in any way hinder the preparations for the Winter Games, let alone embarrass China as they are intended to. After all, the Games provide a stage for athletes, not a runway for flouncing politicians.
It is no secret that the US is trying to form an alliance of like-minded allies to contain China on all fronts, be it military, economic or ideological. It is sad that the line of confrontation has now been extended to the Olympic Games, whose very purpose is to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation.
The moral high ground that the US and its allies are trying to stand on is very shaky and threatens to topple them from the perch from which they preach. To point an accusing finger at China for what they claim are "atrocities" being committed in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region they are relying on the fabrications of those trying to split the region from the motherland.
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation banning imports from the region, based on lies about "a brutal and accelerating campaign of repression against the Uyghur people and other Muslim minorities" there. The latest move, part of a smear campaign against China, will only push bilateral relations to a new low.
A return to the Cold War era will serve no country any good, and the more adamantly the US pushes for ideological confrontations through divisive means, the less inclined countries that are not already members will be to join its club. The fact that few countries have joined the US-orchestrated diplomatic boycott points to the futility of the attempt to hijack the Games for its own political ends.
The Games is for athletes and sports fans. If the US wants to compete with countries fairly as it says, it should let its athletes do so, and not make an unsporting brouhaha in an attempt to disturb other competitors.