The State Department is reportedly prepared to approve the withdrawal of American diplomats and their families from China. This is due to the US government’s incapacity to prevent Chinese authorities from establishing pandemic control measures that would subject Americans to them.
According to two sources, the US Embassy filed a plea to Washington for formal approval on Monday. As China cranks up COVID-19 containment protocols ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which begin in less than two weeks. According to the reports, some embassy employees are unhappy that the US government has declined or been unable to exempt American diplomats from strict quarantine restrictions. Forced admission to COVID-19 fever clinics and separation from children are among the rules.
The United States has steered a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics
The State Department has not reacted to multiple pleas for comment. And it is unknown whether the embassy’s proposal was ratified. According to one source, the US Embassy administered an internal poll. That indicated that up to 25% of staff and family members would prefer to leave China as soon as possible. The Second source however said embassy leadership erred to obtain sufficient confirmations from China over the treatment of US diplomats throughout the pandemic.
The US administration evacuated 1,300 US diplomats and family members from China in the early months of the pandemic. And the two governments were at odds for months over testing and quarantine criteria for officials. Foreign diplomats are compelled to follow pandemic control rules such as quarantines and testing upon arrival in China. Though some have not had to stay in government-designated quarantine hotels. On Tuesday, two million citizens in a Beijing district were to take part in a new round of tests. The United States has steered a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics because of what it claims is China’s ongoing genocide against Uyghurs and other Muslim populations in Xinjiang, the country’s western region.
