TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Human rights groups and lawmakers from different parties on Wednesday (Dec. 8) called on Taiwan to join the international boycott movement against the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) reportedly agreed to discuss the topic with the legislative party caucuses next Tuesday (Dec. 14), while the action groups have planned a protest for International Human Rights Day on Dec. 10, the Liberty Times reported.

As Taiwan has played a key role in human rights reforms in the Indo-Pacific region, oppressed peoples in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong are closely watching the country’s actions, said independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐). As more and more members of the international community agree to a diplomatic boycott of the Games, Taiwan cannot stand aside, he added.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) compared the Chinese Communist Party’s repression to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime, warning that if Taiwan remained silent about the Olympics at this moment, nobody would help the country in the future.

According to Taiwan Association for China Human Rights (TACHR) Director Yang Sen-hong (楊憲宏), any legislative motion should include the phrase “No rights, no games.” Taiwan should have the “guts” to stay away, otherwise it would be seen as capitulating in the face of violence and authoritarianism and could turn into an “international orphan,” he said.

The New Power Party (NPP) had listened to the voices of protest and presented a motion at the Legislative Yuan, with Speaker You accepting a sitdown with the party and the human rights groups next week, Yang said.