ESPN.com - OLY - 'It truly boggles the mind'

 
Friday, July 13
Updated: July 14, 9:45 PM ET
'It truly boggles the mind'



WASHINGTON -- The choice of Beijing as the site of the 2008 Olympic Games was denounced quickly Friday by congressional critics of the communist leadership.

"It truly boggles the mind," said Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., the House International Relations Committee's top Democrat, whose resolution urging the International Olympic Committee not to choose Beijing was blocked by Republican leaders. "This decision will allow the Chinese police state to bask in the reflected glory of the Olympic Games despite having one of the most abominable human rights records in the world."

At the White House, President Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, noted that it was an IOC decision to give China the games and said the Bush administration would pursue human rights concerns through other bilateral contacts.

"The president has made very clear that human rights will be on the agenda," Rice said. In the meantime, she said, "What we do know is that American athletes are going to go there and they're going to compete and hopefully compete very well and bring home lots of gold medals."

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee's East Asia and Pacific panel, saw some value in the choice of Beijing, saying it gives China "an enormous opportunity to change world perceptions and implement significant reforms because, more than ever, the world will be watching."

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, meanwhile, said it was too soon to tell whether the choice was wise. While some say the increased attention on China will "force a higher attention to standards," Armitage said, "there are those who say it didn't work in 1936." The Berlin Olympics of 1936 did nothing to dissuade the Nazi regime in Germany from starting World War II soon thereafter.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., an International Relations Committee member who often cites the Berlin Olympics as a reason China should not get the 2008 Games, condemned the IOC's decision.

"We have just sent China one big wrong signal and that is that the civilized nations of the world are not really concerned enough about their human rights abuses and their militarism to treat them any differently than a democratic country," Rohrabacher said.

Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., a fellow committee member and a leader on China issues, said giving Chinese the games while they "hold American citizens and permanent residents hostage is a disgrace."

"It sends a dangerous message to the communist leadership that their egregious violations of human rights, persecution of religious believers and harassment of American citizens may continue without any consequences," Smith said.

Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
 




ALSO SEE
Outgoing IOC chief wants to stay involved

Rovell: Too much TV tape?

A China first: Beijing awarded 2008 Summer Games

Activists say Olympics won't improve human rights in China

Police detain, release anti-Beijing protesters