Sarkozy not welcome at Olympics - poll
From correspondents in Beijing - Sina.com
July 2, 2008 8:39pm
NEARLY 90 per cent of Chinese respondents to an online survey said they oppose French President Nicolas Sarkozy's attendance at the Beijing Olympics, results showed today.
The poll, conducted by internet portal sina.com, was in response to Mr Sarkozy's threat to boycott the Games' opening ceremonies.
Eighty-eight per cent of respondents to the poll said they opposed Mr Sarkozy's attendance at the August 8-24 Olympics, with 88 per cent also saying they viewed his stance toward China as "extremely unfriendly".
The poll had attracted 99,461 respondents by midday today.
Mr Sarkozy on Monday linked his attendance at the opening ceremony to progress in a second round of talks between China and the Dalai Lama over the situation in Tibet.
"If they continue to progress and if the Dalai Lama and the Chinese President recognise this progress, then all obstacles to my participation will have been lifted," he said.
Mr Sarkozy said he would give his answer "early next week, in Japan" during a Group of Eight summit.
China and the Dalai Lama's representatives held an informal round of talks on May 4 after deadly anti-China riots broke out on March 14 in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. Another round of talks is now under way in Beijing.
Beijing offered in April to reopen a dialogue on Tibet, a move seen as a response to global protests over the crackdown on unrest in Tibet that has angered and embarrassed the communist leadership ahead of the Olympics.
China has accused the Dalai Lama of fomenting the unrest to sabotage the Olympics - a charge he has denied.
The resulting crackdown triggered international criticism of Beijing's policies in Tibet, as well as protests in Paris and other Western cities that disrupted April's international Olympic torch relay.
The protests and Mr Sarkozy's stance have made France a particular target of an anti-Western backlash in China.
In May, hundreds of people staged demonstrations in several Chinese cities at outlets of French retail giant Carrefour.
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Plus (More):
Tibet not an Olympic issue - China
From Sina.com correspondents in Beijing
July 01, 2008 06:55pm
CHINA has insisted that Tibet should not be linked to the Olympics, after French President Nicolas Sarkozy said his attendance at the opening ceremony hinged on Chinese talks with the Dalai Lama."We oppose connecting Tibetan-related issues with the Beijing Olympics and we oppose politicising the Beijing Olympics," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said."Tibetan affairs is an internal affair of China and the contact between the central government and the private representatives of the Dalai is also an internal affair of China," Mr Liu said.Mr Liu was asked to comment on statements made by Mr Sarkozy in Paris yesterday that his attendance at the opening ceremony would depend on progress in talks between China and envoys of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.Mr Sarkozy said he would announce next week whether he would attend the opening ceremony in the Chinese capital."If they continue to progress and if the Dalai Lama and the Chinese president recognise this progress, then all obstacles to my participation will have been lifted," Mr Sarkozy said.Chinese officials and the Dalai Lama's envoys were due to begin two-days of fence minding talks in Beijing today. However Mr Liu would not say whether the talks had begun.The decision by China to hold the talks was widely seen as a response to international condemnation of its crackdown on protests in Tibet in March that embarrassed Beijing ahead of the Olympics.
