Chinese paramilitary police patrol a street in Lhasa in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region Thursday, March 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
by Frank James
Sen. Hillary Clinton wants President Bush to skip the Olympic Games’ opening ceremonies in Beijing this summer to protest China’s political crackdown in Tibet and China’s failure to more actively pressure the Sudanese government over Darfur.
Bush has said recently he plans on atttending and now that Clinton of all people has called for him not to, that’s likely to cement his resolve.
For her part, Clinton stops far short of calling for a complete U.S. boycott of the games, a la President Jimmy Carter in 1980 when he announced a complete American boycott games then to punish the Soviet Union for invading Afghanistan.
That was a public-relations disaster which ruined the event not just American athletes but sports fans and the media. Rooting for Canada just didn’t cut it.
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So there’s little political appetite for a similar boycott of this summer’s games. Clinton makes it clear in her statement that she’s not going there:
Americans will also stand strong and root for the success of American athletes who have worked hard and earned the right to compete in the Olympic Games of 2008.
Here’s her complete statement:
Statement by Hillary Clinton on Olympics
The violent clashes in Tibet and the failure of the Chinese government to use its full leverage with Sudan to stop the genocide in Darfur are opportunities for Presidential leadership. These events underscore why I believe the Bush administration has been wrong to downplay human rights in its policy towards China. At this time, and in light of recent events, I believe President Bush should not plan on attending the opening ceremonies in Beijing, absent major changes by the Chinese government.
I encourage the Chinese to take advantage of this moment as an opportunity to live up to universal human aspirations of respect for human rights and unity, ideals that the Olympic games have come to represent.
Americans will stand strong in support of freedom of religious and political expression and human rights. Americans will also stand strong and root for the success of American athletes who have worked hard and earned the right to compete in the Olympic Games of 2008.