U.S. Officials Apply for Visas for China’s Olympics

Dec. 26, 2021 (EIRNS)—Despite the grand-standing about a “diplomatic boycott” of the Winter Olympics in China by the Biden Administration (followed quickly by Australia and Japan), South China Morning Post reported Dec. 24 that the U.S. government has applied for three-month visas for the games for 18 government officials.

SCMP quoted “two sources and a document” which show that, “Of the 18 names on the list, 15 of the U.S. personnel work for the State Department and one works for the Pentagon,” and “The U.S. indicated to Chinese officials it might submit applications for 40 more officials in the coming months.”

Global Times, in reporting on the story, quotes Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University: “If they cannot be counted as U.S. officials, then who can be?” Li said there appear to be differences among departments of the Biden administration on the Beijing Winter Olympics-related discussions.

“McCarthy-style China policy brings no benefit to the U.S., but it has been playing a major role in U.S. electoral politics. That’s why we are witnessing the U.S. making contradictory decisions back and forth,” Shen Yi, a professor from the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Fudan University, told Global Times.