Olympic Games 2008

Sarkozy en route to China to attend opening ceremonies

Article published on the 2008-08-07 Latest update 2008-08-08 08:26 TU

Nicolas Sarkozy in front of the Olympic stadium in November.
(Photo : AFP)

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has left Paris for Beijing. His controversial visit will be brief: 32 hours of flights, for only 12 hours on the ground. In China, Sarkozy is expected to meet with Chinese leaders and to attend the Olympic Games opening ceremonies.

After the Olympic flame’s difficult passage through Paris, where human rights and Tibetan independence protestors interfered in the relay, Sarkozy’s visit is seen as a step to repair bruised relations.

Sarkozy says that he will be attending the opening ceremonies as “acting President of the European Union,” and a statement put out by the presidential palace explained that he cannot “boycott a quarter of humanity”.

Both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will not be attending the ceremonies, though neither have explicitly drawn a link with events in Tibet, thus avoiding provoking the Chinese government.

Sarkozy’s concession to human rights and Tibetan freedom campaigners is symbolic: his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, who is not going to China, will be attending the inauguration of a Buddhist temple in the south of France.

Sarkozy is scheduled to meet with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao for half an hour, and prominent members of his party have assured the press that he will be discussing China’s human rights record.

But after it was suggested that the French President meet the Dalai Lama, Chinese authorities immediately made their opposition known. Before leaving, Sarkozy specified that he would not meet with the Tibetan spiritual leader, saying that because he is not recognised as a head of state, a meeting would be “illegitimate”.

Meanwhile in Kathmandu, Nepal, 1,500 Tibetans staged a protest, expressing their anger towards China’s treatment of Buddhists on the eve of the Olympic games.

Nepal has repeatedly warned that no anti-China activity would be allowed on its territory, as it seeks to keep good relations with its neighbour. Human rights campaigners accuse Nepal of caving into Chinese pressure and arbitrarily arresting hundreds of Tibetan protesters.