Diplomatic boycotts of the Olympics aim to snub host nations while keeping athletes free to compete.

A small cascade of government boycotts hit China on Wednesday, less than two months before the Beijing Olympics open.

The impact of these political weapons on athletes at the games should be close to zero, and viewers should see no difference in their broadcast content.

Their aim is calculated to hurt the pride of host nations such as China, which often have both sports and politics mixed into their motives for staging events as big as an Olympics or soccerB次元官网网址檚 World Cup.

In Australia, then the United Kingdom and Canada, governments announced their refusal to send officials to the Winter Games being held Feb. 4-20. The move against China on Monday.

Those countries are longtime diplomatic allies that want to shine attention on ChinaB次元官网网址檚 human rights record, and especially the treatment of its Muslim-majority Uyghur people that some call genocide.

The sting will also be felt by the International Olympic Committee, whose leaders have a keen sense of its potential place in world politics even while touting the neutrality it is bound to by the Olympic Charter.

IOC leaders like to burnish the Olympic brand by saying their sports event is the only one to bring more than 200 national teams together in peace and friendship as an example to the world.

Any diversion from the message of global unity is unwelcome.

OLYMPIC MISSION

The Olympic Charter is the code of rules and bylaws that governs the IOC and B次元官网网址渟ets forth the conditions for the celebration of the Olympic Games.B次元官网网址�

Rule 2 relating to the B次元官网网址淢ission and role of the IOCB次元官网网址� helps explain why any boycott is treated as an affront to its principles.

It includes: B次元官网网址淭o take action to strengthen the unity of the Olympic Movement, to protect its independence, to maintain and promote its political neutrality and to preserve the autonomy of sport.B次元官网网址�

For the IOC, political neutrality should mean not calling out an Olympic host nation for its policies and conduct outside of sports or not connected to staging the games.

B次元官网网址淲e always ask for as much respect as possible from the political world and the least possible interference on our sports and Olympic world and ideals,B次元官网网址� senior IOC member Juan Antonio Samaranch said this week.

BOYCOTT HISTORY

The IOC still carries emotional scars from the peak period of more than 100 countries combined staging full boycotts of three straight Summer Games from 1976 to 1984.

The 1976 Montreal Olympics was hit mostly by African countries protesting New Zealand taking part after its rugby team toured Apartheid-era South Africa.

The 1980 Moscow Olympics went ahead without the United States and dozens of other teams protesting the Soviet UnionB次元官网网址檚 invasion of Afghanistan.

The Soviet bloc and some allies retaliated with a boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Thousands of athletes missed competing at an Olympic Games four decades ago. None should miss the Beijing Winter Games because of a diplomatic boycott.

VIP VISITORS

Who will stay at home instead of traveling to Beijing next February? Senior lawmakers and diplomatic officials, mostly, when the opening ceremony is held Feb. 4.

There is no diplomatic obligation on heads of state to attend an Olympic Games, and attending a Winter Games is less of a hot ticket than the summer edition.

It is, however, nice to show up for an old allyB次元官网网址檚 party or build alliances with potential new friends.

Then-President George W. Bush went to Beijing for the opening of the 2008 Summer Games that was supposed to be a coming-out party for a more welcoming China.

In July, led the American contingent to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Going to the games can also create diplomatic issues, at the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea.

Pence found himself in an awkward situation sitting close to North KoreaB次元官网网址檚 delegation at an opening ceremony at Pyeongchang that became a celebration of a relatively short-lived thaw in relations between the Korean neighbors.

The Korean accord had been warmly encouraged by the IOC, seeming to bend its definition of political neutrality to the limit.

CHINAB次元官网网址橲 REACTION

ChinaB次元官网网址檚 reaction to the spreading diplomatic boycott has ranged from B次元官网网址渘ot bothered at allB次元官网网址� to B次元官网网址渃learly quite bothered.B次元官网网址�

The U.S. announcement Monday prompted the Chinese Embassy in Washington to publish in a tweet: B次元官网网址淚n fact, no one would care about whether these people come or not, and it has no impact whatsoever on the #Beijing2022 to be successfully held.B次元官网网址�

In Beijing, the foreign ministry said the Americans were interfering B次元官网网址渙ut of ideological prejudice and based on lies and rumors.B次元官网网址�

Australia was dismissed Wednesday as B次元官网网址渋mmature, arrogant and stupid to follow the USB次元官网网址� by the Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper. B次元官网网址淐ountries with rationality would think of the interests of their own people instead of cooperating with the USB次元官网网址� futile stunt.B次元官网网址�

FUTURE REPRISALS

Adding piquancy to the current boycott is that itB次元官网网址檚 being done by reliable recent and future Olympic host nations.

The U.S. and Australia hosting the Summer Games, in 2028 at Los Angeles and 2032 in Brisbane, could provoke Chinese reprisals.

American Olympic officials are also likely to seek IOC support for staging the Winter Games again at Salt Lake City, which was also the 2002 host.

Canada hosted the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games and when London staged the 2012 Olympics, the mayor of the city was Boris Johnson. He announced the U.K.B次元官网网址檚 diplomatic boycott in its parliament Wednesday as prime minister.

B次元官网网址擥raham Dunbar, The Associated Press