China on Belarus, boycott of Beijing Olympics

China on Monday hailed Belarus' statement at the United Nations in support of the nation's planned changes to the Hong Kong electoral law, which will substantially increase central government control over Hong Kong politics and exclude critics of Beijing.

On Friday, on behalf of 70 countries, Belarus - an ally of China whose security forces have cracked down brutally on opponents of longtime authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko- spoke out in support of the electoral changes in Hong Kong at the UN Human Rights Council.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian described this move as one that "fully reflects that facts speak louder than words."

Despite massive criticisms in Hong Kong and abroad on the changes, Zhao reaffirmed China's determination in safeguarding the national sovereignty and urged the relevant parties to stop interfering affairs of Hong Kong and China in any way.

Zhao slammed the countries and groups calling for boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, saying their behaviors were  "highly irresponsible" and "doomed to failure."

This came after multiple international groups composed of lawyers, politicians and activists brought pressure on Olympic sponsors, sports federations, governments and athletes to shun the game because of reported human rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs, Tibetans and other minorities in China.

Those calls have largely been met with silence, although Canada's House of Commons voted 266-0 in a nonbinding referendum that China is committing genocide against more than 1 million Uyghurs and called for the IOC to move the Olympics from Beijing.

The Dutch parliament passed a similar motion, while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he believes genocide is being committed against the Uyghurs.