Canada announces decision to not send diplomats to Beijing Olympics

TRENTON, Canada

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday that Canada will employ a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics.

Canada joins the UK, US and Australia who have all said that they are not sending diplomats to the Winter Games, which begin Feb. 4

Trudeau, who was joined by Canada’s foreign and sports ministers at a news conference, said China should have expected the boycott because of its dismal human rights record.

"This should not be a surprise," Trudeau told reporters, based on our "concerns for human rights violations."

He specifically mentioned the Two Michaels -- Spavor and Kovrig, who were imprisoned for more than two years in China in a move widely seen as retribution for Canada's arrest of senior Huawei executive Ming Wanzhou.

Their release came hours after Ming was set free.

"We will not be sending diplomatic representatives" to the Games, said Trudeau, but Canadian athletes will participate.

He said the decision was made after consultation with Canada's allies.

“For the past many, many months we’ve been talking about our approach with allies around the world. We know that on issues like this it’s important to make sure that we are working with our allies,” he said earlier Wednesday before the news conference.

The US announced a boycott Monday, with White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki telling reporters that Washington has a "fundamental commitment to promoting human rights."

China has repeatedly denied human rights violations and Foreign Minister Zhao Lijian said the boycott is a "violation of the political neutrality of sports established by the Olympic Charter and runs counter to the Olympic motto 'more united.'"