NDP wants Canada to diplomatically boycott Beijing Olympics

The NDP has said that they support a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games in response to China's treatment of the Uyghur people and their ongoing aggression towards Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In a press conference on Tuesday, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said that he "encourages the government, the Liberal government, to look to the United States now that it's announced their support of such a measure and make a similar announcement soon."

On Monday, the United States government announced their diplomatic boycott of the Olympic Games.

Last week, Liberal MP Adam van Koeverden said that "you can compete in a country and still care about these issues."

"I don’t think that being an athlete, caring about our athletes or cheering for our athletes is mutually exclusive from believing and caring about the Uyghur genocide," he added.

In February, the House of Commons voted to censure China for the Uyghur genocide. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet abstained on the vote.

Despite this, van Koeverden said that "we’re having this conversation today because the Olympics are in China and because the genocide is their reality but Olympics always cast a brighter light on issues around the world."

The Chinese Communist Party is clearly expecting some activism during the Olympics, issuing a statement that they would not tolerate the "politicization of sports."