British FM opposes Beijing Olympics boycott

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband reiterated on Saturday his opposition against a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games this summer.

"I do not support an Olympic boycott. I do support engagement with China on the need to work together internationally to nurture the potential gains of globalization," Miliband said on his blog upon his six-day visit to China.

"China depends on that cooperation; so do we," Miliband wrote. The 29th Summer Olympics will be held in Beijing in August this year.

"I am immensely looking forward to my visit, which I expect to be instructive, thought-provoking and inspiring in equal measure," he said on the blog. Miliband’s visit to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Chongqing and Beijing will begin on Sunday.

"My aims are simple: to try to understand the country better, to compare notes on the challenges of equality, security and sustainability in our two countries, and to forge relationships that foster Anglo-Chinese cooperation at an international level in the pursuit of shared goals," he concluded.

The British foreign secretary made clear his position last week, saying boycotting the Beijing Olympics is not the right path to take.

"We are ever excited about prospects for the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing," Miliband told Chinese reporters in London Wednesday.

"Everything we have seen and read suggests that preparations are proceeding in an excellent way. We very much look forward to a very successful Olympics, successful for China and successful for the world. We certainly believe that boycotts are not a right way, " he said.

Miliband’s comments echoed many athletes’ voices of refusing to boycott the Olympics. The former Olympic champion Linford Christie said boycotting the Beijing Olympics is an unfair demand to make on those who have dedicated their lives to competing in Beijing.

"Athletes have one chance every four years to compete at the Olympics and they should be allowed to do that," said Christie, who won 100m gold at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Christie criticized those who pursue a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games as "very hypocritical," saying they "condemn China but all use Chinese electrical goods."

Meanwhile, a recent poll said a large majority of the British public believe it would be wrong for British sportsmen and sportswomen to boycott the Beijing Olympics.

According to the Guardian/ICM poll published on Friday, 72 percent of the surveyed agreed the British team should attend this summer’s Games in Beijing.

The ICM polled a random sample of 1,003 adults aged over 18 from around Britain.

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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will not attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, an aide has said.

The decision was due to "schedule issues" and had been made months ago, said UN spokeswoman, Marie Mukabe.

Meanwhile, Buenos Aires is braced for Friday’s Olympic torch relay after anti-China protests in other cities.

Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai has withdrawn from the torch relay’s Tanzanian leg, due to concerns over human rights in China.

The BBC’s Laura Trevelyan said the UN was anxious not to give the impression that Mr Ban’s absence was a boycott of the Games.

Ms Mukabe said Mr Ban "had conveyed to the [Chinese] government some months ago that he may not be in a position to accept the invitation to attend this important event due to schedule issues".

This means the decision was made before violent anti-Beijing protests in and around Tibet last month that were suppressed by a heavy security presence.

Security cocoon

The Olympic flame is being relayed around the world through 20 countries before it arrives in Beijing in August for the Games’ opening ceremony.

The torch’s progress has been beset by protests - especially on the London, Paris and San Francisco legs of its tour.

Several thousand police and other guards are to line the planned 13km (eight mile) route of the torch through Buenos Aires.

Argentine activists say their protests will be peaceful but have promised "surprises".

Groups upset over China’s human rights record have been trying to put pressure on Beijing as it readies to host the Olympics for the first time.

The protests along the international torch route have meant that torch-bearers have been immersed in a cocoon of security, surrounded by dozens of police officers and Chinese guards in blue track-suits.

In Paris, the torch had to be extinguished three times because of safety concerns, while in London there were 37 arrests.

The US stage of the torch relay in San Francisco on Wednesday passed off amid confusion and tight security.

The Dalai Lama - who many Tibetans regard as their spiritual leader - said on Thursday that China deserved to host the Games, but that protesters had the right to express themselves in non-violent ways.

The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge, said on Thursday that anti-China protests had created a "crisis" but that the Games in Beijing would "rebound".

He also urged China to respect its "moral engagement" to improve human rights ahead of the Games.

China said it hoped the IOC would steer clear of what it called "irrelevant political factors".

Beijing says Tibet is an integral part of China and what happens there is an internal matter.

After its run through Buenos Aires, the torch will be flown to Tanzania for the next stage of its journey.

2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai told Kenyan TV that she was pulling out of that leg of the relay over concern about "the events that have been unfolding in Tibet for a very long time".

She said she still supported China hosting the Games, but wanted " to see a country that is challenged, [that] is addressing those challenges to the betterment of the environment and the world in general."

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After Stephen Spielberg quits as artistic consultant for the Beijing Olympics last week, many interesting people have said interesting things. I’m collecting some of them here:

Politics and sports must be linked:

World’s Nobel laureates led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu: "We will continue to watch for concerted and consistent Chinese action to ensure rapid deployment of UN-AU [African Union] peacekeepers, progress in the peace talks, and an end to the use of rape as a weapon of war," the letter said.

Stephen Spielberg: "I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual. At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur."

Actress Mia Farrow: "Let us hope that Mr. Spielberg’s decisive action will influence other participants, sponsors and supporters of the Olympic Games to speak out. This is the time to increase pressure on China, the host country of the Olympics and, tragically, the underwriter of the Darfur genocide."

Jill Savitt, director of Olympic Dream for Darfur: "We will be targeting the various stages of the torch relay for demonstrations and we plan to be in Beijing during the Games for a demonstration."

Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian steeplechaser: "The only thing we can do as athletes, is to bring it to people’s attention as much as possible."

Chen Kai, a member of China’s men’s basketball team in the 1970s: "People should remind the Chinese athletes that they are being brainwashed…. The Chinese athletes are nothing but tools and lackeys of the state."

Malloch-Brown, Britian’s minister for Africa: "I have absolutely no doubt that what Spielberg did has made China sit up and take notice. It certainly had the effect of concentrating minds in Beijing and elsewhere.”

Sports, politics don’t mix:

China’s foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao: "We enthusiastically welcome the world’s athletes to come and compete in China… We hope they can interact with the people of China … We hope they have a happy time in China. I believe the people of the world are kind-hearted."

China: "Darfur is not an internal affair of China, nor was it caused by China … "it is utterly unreasonable, irresponsible and unfair to link the two together."

IOC president Jacques Rogge: "I reacted by respecting his decision … I have a lot of respect for Spielberg…. The role of the IOC is to organise the Olympic Games. We are not a sports association nor a political organisation and neither an association with humanitarian goals."

George W. Bush: "There are a lot of issues that I suspect people are going to opine about during the Olympics – the Dalai Lama crowd, you’ve got the global warming folks, you’ve got Darfur. I am not going to go and use the Olympics as an opportunity to express my opinions to the Chinese people in a public way, because I do it all the time with the President."

Italian kayak champion Josefa Idem: "They could have avoided giving the Games to China but now that they’ve decided to go there, I’m against applying pressure for political goals using the skin of the athletes."

Five-times Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson: "Many of these athletes have … no connection to (China) other than they will compete there and represent their own country during what should be one of the greatest moments of their lives…. It should not be assumed that because an athlete competes in Beijing and does not speak out about China’s record that they agree with it or that they don’t care."

Dutch Olympic Committee: "China is ’different…. The committee said if its athletes talk about China individually "they do so in their own name and from their own social commitment."

Sports Minister Milan Zver of Slovenia (President of EU): "Sports is too important…. It is too important to use it as a political instrument."

Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Li Chengwen: "China is very concerned about the crisis in Darfur, and we have been making unremitting efforts to help resolve the crisis

Belgium’s Justine Henin, world’s No. 1 player in tennis: "I really have no opinion on this. I am going there for the Olympics, I am not going there to talk politics," she said. "It is not within my competency to talk about political issues. Everyone has a role and a place."

Zhang, a 64-year-old Beijing resident: "Maybe he’s an important figure in U.S., but here his words carry little weight."

Neither / nor:

Chris Rudge, head of the Canadian Olympic Committee: "We hope they (the athletes) use common sense … They are bright, smart men and women and we have confidence they will conduct themselves in manner that makes Canadians proud."

David Zweig, a China expert at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology: "Beijing must be ready for the possibility of, say, a Tibetan monk setting himself on fire in front of the Beijing Hotel…. They have to think about it very seriously. They are not very adept at handling street protests by foreigners. They’ve never done it."

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