According to a media report, Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht will not travel to Beijing for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. This was announced by the SPD politician at the request of the news portal “T-Online”.

“Neither the federal defense minister nor any other representative at the management level of the ministry intends to travel to the 2022 Winter Olympics,” a ministry spokesman said. A good third of the 149 German Olympic starters are sports soldiers. The Winter Games will begin on February 4 and end on February 20.

At least for the time being, the federal government is not aiming for a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games. A government spokesman told T-Online of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s plans.

Scholz said in mid-January that he had not yet made a decision about a possible diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games. Talks with many others are being sought “because we want to act here in a coordinated manner,” the SPD politician insisted after the inaugural visit of French President Emmanuel Macron.

The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) believes the chancellor will also stay away. “As of the current state of knowledge, we do not expect that we will recognize guests from German politics at the Olympic Winter Games,” a spokesman for “T-Online” said.

Countries such as Canada and the UK have joined a US initiative. It stipulated that no government representative would be sent to Beijing. China has been criticized for its human rights violations in its dealings with Uighurs and Tibetans, for its suppression of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, and for threats against Taiwan.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:220125-99-847256/2