White House pushes back Pelosi China warning and says it ‘100% supports’ US athletes protesting at Olympics
Chinese authorities are known for their harsh tactics towards anyone protesting against their government
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday said the Biden administration is fully in support of any American Olympic athletes who choose to protest during the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Ms Psaki’s comments contradicted a warning given last week by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said she “[did] not encourage them to speak out against the Chinese government there” because she feared for the safety of any Team USA member who chose to do so.
“[To] remove all doubt about why I said they shouldn’t speak out, it’s because I fear for their safety,” Ms Pelosi said during a Thursday Congressional-Executive Commission hearing on China.
Asked about Ms Pelosi’s remarks, Ms Psaki said she was aware of them but said the view of the Biden White House “is that ... we support our athletes 100 per cent”.
“All athletes have the right to freely express themselves, and that is the case in Beijing at the Olympics,” she said, adding that athletes would “make those choices as individuals”.
Ms Psaki stressed that it is the Chinese government’s responsibility to “live up to its own obligations to maintain a safe environment for all athletes at these games”.
“The world will be watching but we leave it up to individuals. We certainly support the right to peaceful protest,” she said.
The Beijing winter games are the first to be hosted in the Chinese capital, which also hosted the 2008 summer games and is the first city to host both a winter and summer Olympics.
In the months prior to the games, critics called for the International Olympic Committee to relocate them due to China’s ongoing genocide against the Muslim Uyghur ethnic minority in the country’s Xinjiang province.
The Biden administration did not send any official representatives to the games, making the US one of a number of western nations to mount a diplomatic boycott of the games in protest of Beijing’s repressive polices against the Uyghurs and in Hong Kong, where the Chinese government has cracked down on press freedoms and seized control of elections.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments