Should Bush Attend the Opening Ceremonies?
Last week, the day before the long July 4th weekend, President George W. Bush finally announced that he would attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in
Both Barack Obama and John McCain also expressed sentiments that the president should not attend the opening ceremonies, and that they personally would not go. Of course, it's easier for them to make those types of comments during an election year. Their main consideration right now is the opinions of the American people, whereas Bush's statements and actions right now, even in the final months of his presidency, have more far-reaching implications.
Earlier this week, he told reporters at the G8 Summit "not going to the opening ceremony for the games would be an affront to the Chinese people, which may make it more difficult to be able to speak frankly with the Chinese leadership." From Bush's perspective, the gesture of supporting
Susan Brownell, an anthropology professor and contributor to the China Beat Blog provides some interesting insight into the concept of Chinese hospitality and host-guest relations.
She writes,” in China the custom is to first invite the guest to your home to allow him/her to “understand” you and build trust, and only later to try to talk through differences. “Mutual understanding” (????) facilitates the later negotiations. To try to work out all differences ahead of time would be ridiculous. . . It is also probably a more accurate description of what is happening through the Beijing Olympic Games - they are more accurately perceived as the starting point for a closer relationship between
Bush has repeatedly said discussions relating to human rights, religious freedom,
By respecting the Chinese hospitality and enjoying the opening ceremonies, the President can have a stronger audience with