Bush Will Go to Beijing Olympics; Obama Affirms Boycott

US Presidential Candidate Barack Obama made it clear again this week that he would not have attended the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing because of concern over China’s policies in Tibet and Sudan. His statements came in response to President Bush’s contrasting decision to attend the opening ceremonies.

However, in recent months, Senator Obama has also expressed some mixed feelings about boycotting the Olympics.

• » See also: #3 Portland, Oregon (USA): Great Bicycle City Photo Tour
• » Get EcoWorldly by RSS or sign up by email.

In early April, Obama said he was “of two minds” about the upcoming Beijing Olympics. “On the one hand, I think that what has happened in Tibet, China’s support for the Sudanese government in Darfur, is a real problem,” Obama told CBS’s The Early Show.

On the othe hand, he added, “I am hesitant to make the Olympics a site of political protest because I think it’s partly about bringing the world together.”

A week later, Obama joined Senator Clinton in asking the White House to consider a boycott of the 2008 games, saying “If the Chinese do not take steps to help stop the genocide in Darfur and to respect the digniy, security, and human rights of the Tibetan people, then the President should boycott the opening ceremonies.”

Now, Bush’s confirmation of his travel plans to Beijing have elicited a reaffirmation of Obama’s decision to boycott the games.

“In the absence of some sense of progress, in the absence of some sense from the Dalai Lama that there was progress, I would not have gone,” Senator Obama told a press conference Monday.

Related Posts About China and the Beijing Olympics

• Water Supplies for Beijing 2008 Olympics in State of Crisis
• Beijing’s Olympic Forest Goes For Gold With Sustainability
• China Wins the Gold Medal in Rain Control
• Obama says he wouldn’t attend the Olympics opening

Photo Credit: Jurvetson at Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

Tweet This Post