Click to play videoNew Delhi: The powerful Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi said on Monday that President George W Bush should consider boycotting the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics following China's crackdown on protesters in Tibet.
"I think boycotting the opening ceremony, which really gives respect to the Chinese government, is something that should be kept on the table," Pelosi, said in an interview taped for airing Tuesday on ABC's Good Morning America.
"I think the President might want to rethink this later, depending on what other heads of state do,” she added.
The White House has said Bush would not boycott the Beijing Olympics, which begin August 8, because of the crackdown, arguing that the games are an event that are supposed to be about the athletes, not politics.
Pelosi, who has a long history of opposing human rights abuses in China, said she does not think the United States should boycott the games entirely. The Olympic torch is making its one US stop in Pelosi's hometown of San Francisco and large protests are expected.
"I don't agree with the perception that is out there that the Olympic Games are this great, unifying, human rights-advocating organisation. It's a sporting event and it should proceed," she said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was the first European leader to suggest a boycott of the opening ceremony to protest China's handling of the unrest in Tibet. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is skipping the Olympics.
In the 1990s Pelosi led congressional opposition to normalising trade relations with China.
In 1991 she was part of a small Congressional delegation that entered Tiananmen Square to honor the pro-democracy activists killed there, leading to a scuffle between police and American news crews trying to cover the event.
Meanwhile Tibetan protestors assembled outside the White House urging President Bush to put pressure on China to resolve the Tibet issue.
"We assemble here to send a message and urge the President of the United States of America to put pressure on the Chinese government so the problem or the issue of Tibet may be solved,” says President, Capital Area Tibetan Association, Namka Tenzin.
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