Olympics pose human rights challenge for Bush

President Bush is spending much of the next day en route to South Korea, his first stop on a trip that will take him to China by week's end.

Much as the trip has been built around the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Summer Olympic Games. But politics in general -- and human rights in particular -- threaten to overtake sports as the focus. And that opens up this question: Is this what Bush had in mind a year ago when he yielded to Chinese entreaties and promised Chinese President Hu Jintao that he would attend?

As the trip approached last week, the White House did little to calm the strong current of human rights issues running through the preparations.

The president met behind the scenes at the White House with five Chinese dissidents last week, earning a strong rebuke from the Chinese government. And, the Washington Post noted today, Bush's national security advisor Stephen J. Hadley met privately a day later with the heads of several major human rights organizations.

"My main message was that, much as the president would like the Olympics to be an apolitical sporting event, it won't be," Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, told the Post in an e-mail message.

He continued:

Chinese people will seize the opportunity through peaceful protest to advance their own freedom agenda, the Chiense government will crack down, and President Bush will look awful if he ignores the repression around him and simply applauds the athletes.

Along comes Sen. John McCain, who also has some advice for the president he is seeking to replace: Don't be too "confrontational" with the Chinese hosts.

In an interview with the Washington Post, McCain said:

You don't want to go over there and insult the Chinese. It would not be good for our relations. I certainly don't think the president would or should go over there and be confrontational. At the same time I think the president can in a very diplomatic style make it clear what we stand for and believe in.

He's getting advice, too, from activists, some of whom are urging him to go beyond out-of-sight comments he might make to Chinese leaders and take a more visible step: Worship with underground Christians while in Beijing to remind Chinese officials that Americans value freedom of religion.

But the president has resisted efforts to make overt moves, vowing to separate politics from the Games. "I made a decision not to politicize the games," Bush said in an interview with Asian journalists last week. "This is for athletics."

Is it? Let's hear your thoughts.

-- James Gerstenzang and Johanna Neuman

Photo credit: Xinhua News Agency

Comments

[Bob]

Looks like everyone wants "W" to admonish the Chinese for their despotic way of governing. Well by golly, what self respecting despot would listen to George Bush advise them on the ethical treatment of their citizenry? "W" hasn't a passing aquaintance with ethics let alone any credibility with other world leaders.

[Max Stilson]

Hi everyone. This olympics reminds me of the 1934 olympics in berlin. Hitler was criticized for his human rights abuses but everybody just pushed it under the rug and the g ames were a success. I personally feel a similiar approach should be taken, there are many similiaraities between the communists and the nazis as there are similairities between the nazis and the us as well. I personally feel this is a game that is supposed to unite the world and I dont feel that there should be too much pressure put on the chinese from other countries and politicians, if civillians would like to protest go ahead, there is too much economically at stake for politicians to get involved in another countries internal issues even if they contradict the Un human rights rules. THe chinese will not change therei attitude for anyone but themselves, and only if it is beneficial to them.

I am canadian but I figure we're usually in stuff together. So i can be very empatheitc towrssds american issues. I think We need to realize america is a pop of 300million well canada is 29 million. China is over 1 billion ppl the economic toll would hurt us more then it would them.

[Max Stilson]

hello?

howdy partner

wat u gz up 2