Berlin (dpa) – Even shortly before the start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has not yet decided whether he will attend the sporting event.
“We will inform you promptly about the Chancellor’s trips,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit in response to a question. Scholz will certainly not fly to the opening ceremony on Friday. Among others, the Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Presidents of Poland, Egypt, Argentina, Pakistan and Serbia as well as the Minister of Sports of Iran are expected to attend.
Hebestreit was unable to say whether an official representative of the federal government would attend the ceremony in Beijing’s Olympic Stadium. When asked by the dpa, the Federal Foreign Office said that no one from its side will be there – including no representative from the German Embassy in Beijing.
Söder for Olympic visit
CSU boss Markus Söder called for a government representative to attend the celebration. “I think that a German foreign policy must remain a topic of discussion despite all the skepticism.”
The US announced a diplomatic boycott of the games from February 4th to 20th weeks ago. Australia, Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand joined. The background is above all the human rights situation in the most populous country in the world. The leadership in Beijing has been criticized for its dealings with the Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang province and the Tibetans, but also for the suppression of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and threats against Taiwan.
EU divided on how to deal with the Olympics
Chancellor Scholz had repeatedly emphasized that there was a voting process in the European Union on the issue of the diplomatic boycott. “As far as I know, this process is still ongoing,” said government spokesman Hebestreit. In any case, he could not announce a result.
However, individual EU countries have already committed themselves – and in different ways. President Andrzej Duda wants to travel to the opening ceremony from Poland. The Netherlands, Denmark and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have opted against sending government officials to Beijing.
It is very unlikely that Scholz will travel to Beijing. His predecessor Angela Merkel did not attend the Olympic Games either. However, Scholz has always left the numerous questions about a possible Olympic visit unanswered in recent weeks.
Baerbock and Faeser have already canceled
Unlike the Chancellor, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) decided in December that they would not travel to Beijing. However, both made it clear that these are personal decisions that have nothing to do with the fundamental political decision on a diplomatic boycott.
“I’m a big sports fan, but I definitely won’t be going to the Olympics during this time – that wasn’t usual for foreign ministers in the past either,” said Baerbock in a dpa interview. Interior Minister Faeser, who is responsible for sports, had a spokesman explain that she did not want to travel to Beijing herself “due to the pandemic”.
“Staying away alone is not a solution,” says Söder. He could well have imagined Baerbock “expressing her critical attitude in talks in Beijing,” said Söder. In general, there is a trend in foreign policy to work with statements. Conversations based on trust are often neglected. You also have to show respect for the athletes who have been training for years and often feel very alone.
South Korea sends ministers – Japan does not
The governments of China’s neighboring countries also deal differently with the Olympics. Japan is not sending a government delegation, but expressly does not want to speak of a diplomatic boycott. South Korea’s government will be represented at the Games by Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hwang Hee.
Iran had condemned the political boycott and will definitely attend the opening ceremony with a government representative. However, since the country’s team consists of only three athletes and two coaches, only Minister of Sport Hamid Sajadi will be there on Friday.