Condoleezza Rice To Attend Olympic Closing Ceremony In China

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will attend the closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic games in August.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters Thursday that Rice also looks forward to attending some sporting events during the games’ closing days.

President Bush will attend the opening ceremonies. Human rights groups had urged Bush to boycott the ceremonies to oppose China’s crackdown on protesters in Tibet.

The Bush administration argues that the Olympics are a sporting event and that U.S. officials will raise human and religious rights with Chinese officials.