politics

Bush says not attending Olympic opening ceremony would be 'affront' to Chinese people

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Money, cheap labor and we can be a bully as long as we want. < :-)

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Isn't China a Communist country? Why do we treat the Christian nation of Cuba like terrorists and warmongering and then it's O.K. to sell weapons, missiles, jets, TVs, computers, cars etc. to a Communist country which is what I grew up with being told to hate! Man get in and grab the cash..."What a can of worms America has opened"! Besides hypocrisy...ignorance. Wait till the next BIG war. Every Chinese wants a big kitchen, frig, dish washer, air con...should've left them to live natural like before. Oh yeah, gotta make some money. Wait til there's no oil left. God save us. Oh, I don't believe in God!

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swordfish2502, people has been targeting CCP on many of her issue before the game rather than targeting any average chinese.

i also hope that average chinese like you or anyone else will understand too.

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As a chinese, I don't consider myselfe a 100% supporter of CCP, but a 100% supporter of China, just like most of u guys hate bush but love U.S, right? Like most of other chinese, I have concerns about the problems of pollution, human rights, free speeches in China, which the government seems not doing enough, but its really getting better and better. Olympics means a lot to Chinese peopole, who clean the hourse, prepare the dinner and wait for the guests around the world. So please please don't be too hard on them, just give them a sign they are not rejected by the rest of the world. Got to beijing, if u have time. About the visa to china, it seems it become difficult and take a longer time to get one. I am sorry about that, that is just what CCP do when they get nervous, like the states after 9/11, I hope u understand.

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007 - Your link states that the Chinese will soon have a trillion dollars invested in the U.S. That's because we're such a good investment! This is overall a very positive thing. The U.S. isn't "in hock" to China. They need us far more than we need them. In fact, they seem to need GM cars even more than Americans!

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Red - Har!

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Hey, 007, could you elaborate on that? Thanks.

Hey, adaydream - You too. Thanks.

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Gotta keep those ties open. We want another check from China don't we? Gotto kiss that butt. < :-)

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You dont need to take americán politician's morale standard as some holy as they portrayed. They just know looking for oppurtunities and if a deal was done,they will gives in! It wasnt the first time and it wont be the last!

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"has Bush been reading a dictionary?? bugger me!"

Yeah, man. Garsh. Bush, he gots them Chinese pretty well figgered out. It almost like his ol pappy was Chief of the U. S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China or sumptin.

Of course, if you are a "progressive" and you are offended by Bush's appearance at Games neither his administration nor America awarded China you can still strike a blow by rushing out and buying another "Free Tibet" bumper sticker for your life partner's Prius.

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an “affront to the Chinese people”

has Bush been reading a dictionary?? bugger me!

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Is it too hard for some of you to ee that if the Chinese people see the west turning their backs on them during their Olympics, it will only foment anti-western sentiment, and therefore make any message and attempt to "reform them" all the harder?

BTW it is not suppose to be THEIR Olympics, it is suppose to be a political free event. But for the Chinese it is a political event, it is their time to show the world that they are a power.

Reform them? The only way that will happen is if they do it themselves. The people that is and not their government. The people need to rise up and push this Authoritarianism state aside. But that will not happen as long as the state has full control.

Every time the leaders of other nation go and bow before the CCP Authoritarian leadership. It makes them look even more strong before their own people. Now why would any leader who loves democracy go there and kiss the leaderships hind?

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Come here Bush, jump Bush, roll over Bush, bark Bush..Good boy, now we will buy more of your debt and help you pay for your war, good Bush, good Bush..Bark for the nice Republicans reading this Bush..BARK BARK...Good Bush good boy..

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China isn't Nazi Germany and this comparison is becoming tiresome. Fact is, the Chinese people themselves want this Olympics and are proud of it. Deny them, and you aren't helping them. Is it too hard for some of you to ee that if the Chinese people see the west turning their backs on them during their Olympics, it will only foment anti-western sentiment, and therefore make any message and attempt to "reform them" all the harder? This idea that Chinese people are in the mud waiting for the white man to lift them out of their oppression reeks of idealism and a disconnection from reality.

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There is very little I respect or like about GWB. This decision adds to the long list of other mistakes this worst American president has made.

In 1936 the world pacified Hitler by attending the Berlin Olympics. It was a chance for the Nazi regime to show off their progress in the post depression world. It was a chance for them to project and image of who and what they wanted the world to see. And shortly after the Nazis proved exactly what kind of nation they are.

I love China and her rich deep history. And I have nothing but love and respect for the Chinese people. Which is why I am against support for the Olympics.

In addition to the political issues of Tibetan and Uyghur autonomy, there is the issue of just what China has done to the working poor population to achieve these games. Farmers have been left without water to cultivate a living so it could be diverted to Beijing. Money's needed for infrastructure, health care and education in poor regions has been diverted to putting a shine on Beijing. And the ongoing suppression of religion, ethnic groups, political groups, free speech and even freedom of information contiues to leave the Chinese people behind a wall of repression. And all this is before you even consider the ongoing threats against Taiwan, a clearly sovereign and independent nation that China wishes to intimidate into unification.

Mao may have had dreams of a society of equals. But as with most revolutions, corrupt and selfish leaders simply replace old oppressors with new ones. The Red China we knew from the 60s is gone. It has been replaced by a growing priviledged class in Beijing and Shangahai who are living off the suffering of China's majority poor. The Olypmics benefitst these people while leaving the nation's poor out in the cold.

Bush has no positive track record for good decisions. But I hope the rest of do. Boycott the Olympics, do not watch it, do not by the promotional products and do not contribute to the ongoing rationalization that China has become a wonderful and open nation just because the corporate world is looking to make a profit there. The facts show what the nation is like and what the people there contend with. Change will not come from this kind of patronage. It did not in 1936 it will not in 2008.

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U.S. President George W Bush said Sunday it would be an “affront to the Chinese people” if he did not attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, and Japan’s prime minister announced he would go as well.

The problem for GWB is that Beijing would use the identical phrase “affront to the Chinese people” if he bailed. That's what makes his critics, former supporters like John Bolton, unhappy with his decision though they are far angrier about his closing a deal with the North Koreans given the fact Pyongyang was not completely forthcoming.

The issue was displaced by the earthquake. Given how high the xenophobia had been ratched up that's not a bad thing.

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"Oh.... then why the pressure to show up as a lap-dog to the shrub? Surely that's not politics."

I guess someone isn't paying attention to the advances in bilateral relations that China and Japan has been undergoing over this past year. It's pretty obvious that Fukuda would hae gone to the Olympics even if Bush didn't.

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Well, from the looks of the hotel bookings, the ordinary people seem to be not attending...

As for affronting the IOC, well, I think that's been going on for a long time. The IOC has still got to be kicking themselves.

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I wonder if other nations will boo him and the US team.

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More so, Diplomatic strain with China is not the way to Go. I'd like to avoid Cold War II please

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Bush is right though. Looking at the bigger picture not attending is better than not attending. You don't need the Olympics to express his concerns. By not attending he would also affront the IOC.

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Good job Bush,

Huhn..didn't expect to say that anytime soon.

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What does he care anyway, his time as President is coming to a close (not quickly enough for some of us). As such, he doesn't need to give a care about domestic opinion back in the US or the views of other countries.

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SInce it is probably the US and China who will again dominate in the medal count Bush is right. Wouldn't look cool for us to haul all that gold outta town without Dubya showin his grinning mug to the hundreds of millions of Chinese who have ditched European Marxism and aspire to enjoy the lifestyles South Koreans and Japanese have earned.

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‘‘does not see much need to connect the Olympics to the politics.’’

Oh.... then why the pressure to show up as a lap-dog to the shrub? Surely that's not politics.

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‘‘does not see much need to connect the Olympics to the politics.’’

took them that long to figure this out.

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