Posted on 03/30/2008 2:28:37 AM PDT by KungFuBrad
The Guardian UK |
Xinhua China News |
Headline: Merkel says she will not attend opening of Beijing Olympics Quotes: "The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, yesterday became the first world leader to decide not to attend the Olympics in Beijing." "Donald Tusk, Poland's prime minister, became the first EU head of government to announce a boycott on Thursday and he was promptly joined by President Václav Klaus of the Czech Republic" The disclosure that Germany is to stay away from the games' opening ceremonies in August could encourage President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to join in a gesture of defiance and complicate Gordon Brown's determination to attend the Olympics. |
Headline: EU foreign ministers reject call for boycott of Beijing Olympics Quotes: "The European Union (EU) foreign ministers rejected on Saturday the call for a boycott of the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games over the Tibet issue." "British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters: "We are fully engaged in supporting the Olympics. We want to see it as a success, and I think it is right that the prime minister represents us." BRDO, Slovenia, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The call for a boycott of the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics received chilly response at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Slovenia on Friday. |
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I wonder if these non-arrivals and possible team boycotts will do the opposite. China never was a nation that appreciated backing down from anything. And I don’t see Tibet ever being released from the Chinese. Face saving is far more important to them than lives, than the Olympics, than Tibet.
You hit the nail right on the head. Anyone who has lived in China for a long period of time knows that nothing is more important then keeping your face.
“boycotts will do the opposite.”
The opposite of what?
Opposite of the intended result - if the desire is to force China to address the Tibet issue, they will indeed address it, with increasingly large crackdowns. The most stubborn headstrong child, in a way...
You are probably exactly right. But that will bring more unwanted attention to China. They can’t escape the face losing criticism their actions will bring. The more they struggle to stop the problems the worse they look.
That is the reaction of panic. China can act like it lives in a vacuum but ultimately it has to deal with the world.
I agree with you about “the most stubborn headstrong child” opinion about Chinese commies. How about “eunuchs”? Those ancient Chinese eunuchs with unmeasurable wealth and power who would get rid of anything and anybody in their way.
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