China chose a Uyghur athlete to help deliver the Olympic flame in the 2022 Winter Games opening ceremony Friday as many Western countries are holding a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics because of the country’s treatment of the ethnic minority.
For the final torch lighting, the Olympic flame was placed inside a giant snowflake in the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium by two athletes, Uyghur cross-country skier Dinigeer Yilamujiang from Xinjiang in western China and Nordic combined competitor Zhao Jiawen.
“This was a riposte to President Joe Biden for skipping these Olympics and a message to the West: China won’t be lectured to on human rights, or on any other issue,” Andy Browne, editorial director of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, said on NBC’s broadcast of the event.
Though many Western countries have characterized Beijing’s treatment of the Uyghurs as genocidal, China denies mistreatment of the minority.
Biden, along with the leaders of Great Britain, Canada and Australia, was absent from the opening event.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was present at the ceremony.
The head of the United Nations, António Guterres, has taken sharp criticism for his willingness to attend the games in Beijing.
“The world is turning its eyes to China, and China is ready,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday, before the ceremony. “We will do our best to deliver to the world a streamlined, safe and splendid Games.”