Olympics spotlight troubles in host China

BEIJING, March 20 (UPI) -- The upcoming 2008 Summer Olympic Games, less than five months away, are spotlighting problems in host country China, reports say.

While the United States and other governments mull over how much support to lend the Games, which open Aug. 8, a suggestion comes from French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner that the European Union consider a boycott of the opening ceremony, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Even the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader who refuses to agree Tibet is part of China, doesn't want a full boycott of the Games.

Also creating problems for China are criticisms of arrests of dissidents and critics of the Olympics, the barring of journalists from visiting Tibet and the calls for more pressure on ally Sudan to halt quell violence in the Darfur region.