BEIJING — Any boycott of the 2008 Olympics in China by Prince Charles would be “unfair” since the event belongs to the whole world, its organisers said Monday.
“We did not hear of this boycott by Prince Charles to China. I think a boycott of the Olympic Games would be an unfair practice,” said Wang Hui, a spokeswoman for the Beijing Olympic organising committee.
“The Beijing Olympic Games belongs to the whole world, not only to China. Our slogan is ‘One World, One Dream.'”
The prince’s deputy private secretary Clive Alderton, responding to a letter from the Free Tibet group, said the heir to the British throne would not be going to the opening ceremony of August’s Games.
Prince Charles “has long taken a close interest in Tibet and indeed has been pleased to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama on several occasions,” Alderton wrote.
“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.”
Free Tibet, which campaigns against human rights abuses there, said it wrote to Charles calling on him not to attend this summer’s games in Beijing.
A spokeswoman for the prince at Clarence House declined to comment, saying only: “We would not be able discuss any private correspondence.”
Wang Hui told a press conference that Beijing had been working hard on the Games and had received “positive signals” from many countries.
“The Olympic Games is a harmonious competitive event that is meaningful for the whole world,” she said. “We have made great preparations and tried our utmost to bring to the world a high level Olympic Games.”
She did not say whether the prince had been invited to attend the opening ceremony. His sister Princess Anne is a member of the International Olympic Committee.
The prince is a well-known supporter of the Tibetan cause. He hosted a reception at St. James’s Palace in May 2004 for Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing regards as a separatist.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule and has since lived in exile, travelling the world seeking support for Tibetan rights.
China sent troops into Tibet in 1950 and officially “liberated” it the following year.
