A Chinese state media journalist said he hopes President Joe Biden, 79, will “live long enough” to see the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 in what appears to be a veiled threat on the president’s life. The now-deleted tweet was written in response to the administration’s diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
“You’re not invited and not welcome, Mr Biden. Hope you will live long enough to see China boycotting Los Angeles Summer Games in 2028,” tweeted Chen Weihua, China Daily EU Bureau Chief and columnist, on Monday. Chen then deleted the tweet on Wednesday.
Chen wasn’t the only Chinese state media journalist to comment on the United States’ diplomatic boycott. Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times, called the move “super narcissistic” and that Beijing residents don’t care if US officials attend the event or not.
“Only super narcissistic people will regard their absence as a powerful boycott. Most of those US govt officials are close contacts of the COVID-19 patients according to China’s standard, moreover picky and pretentious,” Hu tweeted. “You are the people that Beijing residents least want to see.”
On Monday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced the administration “will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games” due to China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, and other human rights abuses.”
The move prompted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian to issue a threatening response during a press conference on Tuesday: “The US will pay a price for its erroneous actions. You may wait and see.”
Zhao accused the Biden administration of “fabricating the biggest lie of the century” about what he characterized as the “so-called ‘genocide’ in Xinjiang,” which he said has been “debunked.”
Earlier this year, Uyghur exiles described the human rights violations being committed against them by the Chinese Communist Party, including forced abortions, killings, torture, rape, enslavement, forced separation of children from their parents, forced sterilization, labor, enforced disappearances, destruction of cultural and religious heritage, persecution, forced marriages, and the imposition of Han Chinese men into Uyghur households.
More than 40 nations spoke out against the atrocities in a joint statement issued at the United Nations, citing “credible reports” of political re-education camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where more than 1 million minorities have been held against their will.
The nations called on China to allow unrestrained access to the region, including the United Nations high commissioner for human rights. China’s ambassador to the U.N. dismissed the statement, asserting that the claims therein were “groundless.”
