Aw, the Prince of the Realm can't protest against words put into his
mouth either. Poor guy. That's why UK law does not allow Royalty to
speak on political matters. Its a minefield that can only embarrass
the UK government and throw a pie in the face of Royalty. And Prince
Charles didn't. Read the first paragraph where CNN acknowledges its a
Tibet Group claiming nonsense. If you miss that the rest of the CNN
report will look like the Prince actually said things he never did.
Sneaky.
Tibet group: Prince to boycott Games
January 28, 2008,
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/01/28/prince.olympics/
(CNN) -- Britain's Prince Charles will not attend the opening
ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing -- and a group that
campaigns against China's human rights record said Monday that the
future monarch's decision was in solidarity with its aims.
Prince Charles will not be attending the opening ceremonies for the
2008 Beijing Olympics.
Free Tibet Campaign officials said they had written to the Prince of
Wales asking him to stay away from the event, which begins on August
8.
However, it was not clear if the prince had been invited to attend --
he is believed to have gone to an Olympics only once before, when his
sister Princess Anne competed in Montreal in 1976.
The Princess Royal's daughter, Zara Phillips, is hoping to represent
Britain in equestrian at the event this year. Her father, Captain Mark
Phillips, won a gold medal at the 1972 Munich Games.
A spokeswoman for the Prince of Wales told CNN Monday that his office
did not comment on private correspondence, but said, "There are no
plans to attend the ceremony."
The Free Tibet group told the prince -- a long-time supporter of
Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama -- that human rights conditions in China
and the small Himalayan nation had deteriorated since China was
awarded the summer sporting showpiece, despite its promises to improve
them.
"With all that in mind, we asked the prince not to go to the Games
because to do so would represent the tacit endorsement of the
worsening human rights situation in Tibet," spokesman Matt Whitticase
told CNN.
Whitticase said his group received a prompt response from the prince's
deputy private secretary, informing it of the prince's decision to
stay away.
The Free Tibet Campaign said the letter from the prince's office read:
"As you know, His Royal Highness has long taken a close interest in
Tibet. You asked if the Prince of Wales would be attending the opening
ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in 2008. His Royal Highness will not
be attending the ceremony."
Whitticase said his group was now asking other high-profile leaders to
follow the prince's "principled example."
"We feel these Games are destined to become known as the 'Games of
Shame'," he said.
There was no immediate reaction from Beijing. Earlier this month, a
foreign ministry spokeswoman told the state news agency that some
groups were trying to politicize the Games "to slur China's image and
to put pressure on the Chinese government."
"No country in the world is perfect in human right issues,"
spokeswoman Jiang Yu told Xinhua. "The Chinese people are enjoying
many rights that they have never enjoyed before."
Prince Charles was embroiled in controversy over China in 2005 when
British newspapers published details from one of his private journals,
in which he called diplomats from the communist country "appalling old
waxworks" following the handover of Hong Kong.
The Free Tibet Campaign, founded 20 years ago, advocates an end to
China's occupation of Tibet.
The Dalai Lama has called for more autonomy from communist China and
asked that it grant Tibetans the freedom to practice their religion.
China claims that it is the rightful and legitimate government of
Tibet after its 1951 invasion. It sees the Dalai Lama's work as part
of "separatist activities."
