While in Japan, President Bush defended his decision [1] to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August; he believes that not attending "would be an affront to the Chinese people," making it "more difficult to be able to speak frankly with the Chinese leadership."

Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fakuda will also be attending the opening ceremonies, voicing views similar to Bush, and adding "I don't think you really have to link Olympics with politics."

Other world leaders, such as Prime Minister of Britain Gordon Brown and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, will not be present at the opening ceremonies.  The Chinese government is facing criticism from these leaders and protesters worldwide on its policies towards Tibet and the Sudanese government.

To see what human rights activists are doing to pressure the Chinese government to bring security to Darfur, click here [2].