Chinese envoy calls on Japan to support Beijing OlympicsReuters, TOKYOChinese Ambassador to Japan Kong Xuanyou (孔鉉佑) yesterday said that the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics had been unfortunately “used as a political tool,” and asked for Japan’s support, while also warning Tokyo not to interfere on Taiwan. Kong’s speech came as members of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party called for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Games in February. The US and other nations have announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics due to human rights abuses in Hong Kong and China’s Xinjiang region, but Japan has yet to make a decision. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a policy speech during an extraordinary session at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo on Dec. 6. Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month said that Japan and the US could not stand by if China attacked Taiwan, and Beijing needed to understand that.

Source: Taipei Times December 17, 2021 00:58 UTC