WASHINGTON — President Bush will attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing, the White House said Thursday. The announcement quashed any talk of a presidential boycott over China’s violent crackdown after anti-government riots and protests in Tibet.
While other world leaders have talked of boycotting the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies, Bush’s aides have signaled for weeks he was unlikely to do so.
Critics of China have said if Bush were to avoid the opening ceremony, it would send a powerful signal of international anger over China’s violent response to demonstrations in Tibet in March.
Bush himself has said he does not view the Olympics as a political event. “I view it as a sporting event,” he said earlier this year.
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