Rights concerns won’t keep Bush from Olympics’ start
The White House confirmed Thursday that President Bush would attend the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies next month, despite human rights concerns that have led to boycotts by his counterparts in Britain and Germany.
The decision, though expected, illustrated the dilemma Bush faced after he promised Chinese President Hu Jintao in September that he would go to Beijing for the Games.
China has put huge stock in the quadrennial competition, turning the August athletic celebration into a sort of world-stage validation of its economic growth and its politics.
But along with its sought-after stature as an Olympic host has come new scrutiny of its human rights policies, particularly its actions in Tibet after pro-independence protests in March. As China’s efforts to crush demonstrations by Buddhist monks and their supporters became violent, and critics sought to draw attention to the violence by disrupting global legs of the Olympic torch relay, pressure grew on Bush to stay home.
Other world leaders have said they may attend the Games to watch their athletes compete but avoid the opening ceremonies as a way to quietly protest Chinese policies. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have stated that they will not be at the opening ceremonies; French President Nicolas Sarkozy has held out the possibility of attending, depending on the progress of talks involving Chinese officials and representatives of the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.
The Chinese government said Thursday that it has held another round of private talks with the Dalai Lama’s envoys.
Few details were available regarding the secret contacts, which were believed to have taken place Tuesday and Wednesday in the Chinese capital.
Hard-liners in China accuse the Dalai Lama of instigating the March riots to draw attention to the goal of splitting Tibet from the rest of China. Such thinking has supporters of the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, fuming.
“The Dalai Lama has made it extremely clear that we are not seeking separation of Tibet from China,” said Tsering Tashi, the Tibetan exile government’s representative in London. “His holiness supports China’s opportunity to host the Olympics. This indicates that Tibetans are not anti-Chinese or anti-China.”
According to state news media, Chinese representative Du Qinglin said further dialogue was possible only if the Tibetan spiritual leader exhibited “positive behavior” and promised to “not support activities disturbing or sabotaging the Olympic Games.”
The White House had signaled in recent weeks that Bush was unlikely to stay home. He has said repeatedly that his attendance as a spectator at the Games would simply demonstrate his support for U.S. athletes.
The White House held off announcing the trip, which will include visits to Japan, South Korea and Thailand, until virtually the last minute, and did so on the eve of a three-day holiday when the announcement was likely to draw little notice.
--
chingching.ni@latimes.com
--
Gerstenzang reported from Washington and Ni from Beijing.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
