WASHINGTONNEW YORK — China’s crackdown in Tibet will not cause President Bush to cancel his planned trip to the Beijing Olympics, the White House said Thursday.
At the same time, the administration interceded on behalf of Tibetan protesters and requested a firsthand look at how Chinese police were dealing with them.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi Wednesday night for about 20 minutes, urging restraint and also Chinese talks with the Dalai Lama. Presidential spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush’s position is that the Games “should be about the athletes and not necessarily about politics.”
Nobel laureates condemn crackdown
Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel and 25 other Nobel laureates on Thursday condemned the Chinese government’s violent crackdown on Tibetan protesters and called on Beijing to exercise restraint.
“We protest the unwarranted campaign waged by the Chinese government against our fellow Nobel laureate, His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” the group said in a statement.
Wiesel told reporters the group wanted renewed negotiations between China and the Dalai Lama.
