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The Australia Tibet Council has welcomed Prince Charles’ decision not to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in August.
“We are greatly encouraged that Prince Charles, despite pressure from the Chinese government, has remained true to his long-held and principled support for human rights and Tibet. Now is the time for the international community to have the courage to tell China that it’s current behaviour is unacceptable. Improvements in human rights must come before the Olympics,” said Paul Bourke, ATC’s Executive Officer.
 On Monday Prince Charles’ deputy private secretary confirmed that the Prince would not be attending the opening ceremony and reiterated his close interest in Tibet and gratitude at having met the Dalai Lama on several occasions.
According to London’s Daily Telegraph, newly appointed Chinese ambassador Fu Ying has made repeated attempts to improve relations with Prince Charles. These moves prompted the UK’s Free Tibet Campaign to urge the Prince to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics
Prince Charles has made no secret of his support for Tibet and admiration of the Dalai Lama. In 1999 the Prince reportedly missed the main banquet during a state visit by then Chinese president Jiang Zemin as a deliberate show of his disapproval of the current Chinese regime. In May 2004 he hosted a reception at St. James Palace for the Dalai Lama.
 We hope this action … will encourage other public and political figures to make a similar stand… Despite contrary assurances to the International Olympic Committee, human rights abuses in Tibet and China have increased since China was awarded the Olympics in 2001. After six-years of meetings, there has been no real progress on the dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Last week US-based organization Human Rights Watch reported a three-fold increase in arbitrary arrests and detention in Tibet in 2007 as compared to 2006. Several media watchdogs including the World Association of Newspapers and Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres have reported increased media restrictions in China.
Simon Bradshaw, ATC’s Campaign Coordinator, expressed his disappointment that the vast majority of public figures have been willing to overlook China’s continued and escalating repression in Tibet in the run-up to the Olympics.
“China has failed to deliver promised improvements on human rights and basic freedoms ahead of the Beijing Olympics. We hope this action by Prince Charles will encourage other public and political figures to make a similar stand and call on China to meet the Dalai Lama and work towards a peaceful resolution of the Tibet issue”.
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Australia Tibet Council (ATC) works to promote the human rights and democratic freedoms of the Tibetan people. 
