Bush and Fukuda set for Olympics' opening
7/7/2008 15:24
US President George W. Bush said yesterday he was looking forward to
cheering on the athletes at the Olympic Games in Beijing.
Bush said it
would be an "affront to the Chinese people" if he did not attend the opening
ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on August 8, and Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo
Fukuda announced he would go as well.
Bush, after meeting Fukuda ahead of
a summit of the Group of Eight industrialized countries, said yesterday he did
not need to boycott the ceremony to show his stance on religious freedom and
human rights in China.
"I've had the honor of dealing with two Chinese
presidents, and every time that I have visited with them, I have talked about
religious freedom and human rights," Bush said. "I don't need the Olympics to
express my concerns."
"Not going to the opening ceremony for the Games
would be an affront to the Chinese people," he added.
Bush announced
several days ago that he would go to the Olympics' opening
ceremony.
Fukuda, a longtime proponent of stronger relations between
Japan and China, had not previously said whether he would attend the ceremony.
He told reporters yesterday that he had been trying to resolve a scheduling
conflict.
"Now I've found out that it's possible, so I, too, officially
announce I will attend the ceremony," he said.
"There are many athletes
going from Japan so it's natural that I want to cheer them on," he told a joint
news conference with Bush in Hokkaido.
Bush defended his own decision to
travel to Beijing for the event. "I view the Olympics as an opportunity for me
to cheer on our athletes. It's an athletic event," the US president told the
news conference.
Bush put aid to Africa and advancing world trade talks
high on his agenda for the G8 summit which is also expected to focus on energy
and climate change.
The three-day summit which begins today in Hokkaido
also includes meetings between the G8 leaders and heads of several African
countries and major developing nations including China, Brazil and
India.
Host Japan has made climate change a key topic at the meeting, and
many hope the G8 will give some indication of its commitment to cutting
greenhouse gases to move forward UN-led talks aimed at replacing the Kyoto
Protocol on climate change, which expires in 2012.
Negotiators face a
deadline of December 2009, when some 190 nations will meet in
Denmark.
Fukuda would like the summit to agree on a 50 percent overall
reduction in greenhouse gases - blamed for global warming - by 2050. Some
European countries and developing nations also want to set targets for cutting
emissions by 2020. Scientists say those targets are needed to avoid the worst
effects of global warming.
Bush also emphasized the urgency of providing
aid for Africa. He called on wealthy nations to provide mosquito nets and other
aid to prevent children from "needlessly dying from mosquito
bites."
Agencies
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