Venezuela announced support for Beijing Olympics

By China Watcher

Not widely reported in the Western world (as we all know why), Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro have expressed their strong support for the Beijing Olympics and denounced the violent activities that took place recently in China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The Venezuelan government also supported the Chinese actions to restore law and order in Tibet.

Both the leaders are confident that the coming Summer Games would be successfully staged.

Venezuela will feature prominently under China’s Tier 1 list of friendly nations.

Meanwhile, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has expressed a view similar to that of mine that the people should not mix athletics with politics and hence, the people should not boycott the Summer Games.

The visiting Australian Prime Minister also strongly believes that the world should not boycott the Olympics when he was asked during his speech at the elite Beijing University. Mr Rudd said a boycott would be counterproductive because "the Olympics are important for China's continuing engagement with the world". In his speech he was merely “telling” China of the human rights problem in Tibet but the Western media twisted it as a warning. Can Australia a relatively under populated country warned a big permanent Security Council member with a population of 1.3 billion? At least he did not insist on blackmailing the Chinese leaders like the recent French President remarks which stirred up a diplomatic confusion, a result of the eagerness of its Human Rights Minister to champion the activists cause.

The Australian Prime Minister has advised the Chinese government to seek a peaceful solution through dialogue and negotiations. Further, he said that Australia recognized China’s sovereignty over Tibet. There is certainly no Free Tibet over here as underlined by the activists, Tibetan exiles and sympathizers.

Though Sweden and Australia attitudes do not appear unfriendly as to directly provoke China but due to its strong stance on human rights not amounting to a lecturing of its righteous standard of what is right or wrong (although the western media can spin it differently), these two nations can be placed under China’s Tier 2 list of friendly nations.