Bush Will Attend Church Service in China

Many non-thinking types like Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton were urging President Bush to boycott the Olympic Games in Beijing. One blogger had a different opinion:

If Bush wanted to make a statement about China's actions in Tibet, where could he best do that, in Washington or Beijing? The Chinese would be unable to prevent the president from speaking out on whatever issue he wanted to, though it's not his style to be rude to his hosts. He could, however, address the issue in a manner that makes the point that the Chinese have problems that need to be fixed.

Don't boycott the Olympics - go there and make your point in front of the world's media.

This news today seems to confirm the wise blogger's words:

US President George W. Bush plans to attend church while in China for the opening of the Olympic Games next month, and will speak about freedom of religion, a top aide said Wednesday.

"When he goes to church on Sunday (August 10) he will make a statement afterwards in which he discusses his view on religious freedom in China," said national security council director of Asian Affairs Dennis Wilder.

"You can deliver the message of freedom without politicizing the events of the game," Wilder said.

This is exactly why the President was right to attend the Olympic Games over the objections of San Fran Nan and Hillary. He has the opportunity to make important statements on freedom of religion (and other topics) in front of the world's media and there's pretty much not a darn thing that the Chinese can do about it (except for the Internet censoring they've already got planned).