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AUCKLAND, New Zealand-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned China on Saturday not to use its massive Olympic security apparatus to crack down on legitimate dissent. Beijing officials maintain the Olympics are threatened by terrorists and other extremists and some fear Chinese authorities could use that as an excuse to move against political opponents. Rice and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said any such action could mar the Games."Security threats have to be dealt with and that is fully understood by everybody, but security should not become in any way a cover to try and deal with dissent," said Rice who will head the U.S. delegation to the Olympic closing ceremonies. "That would be unfortunate."President Bush will attend the opening ceremony on Aug. 8 to demonstrate U.S. support for what Rice called "really a wonderful thing for China and the Chinese people.""We are hopeful that the Olympic games will come off without a hitch," Rice said, adding that Chinese authorities should make good on promises to "showcase not just the Olympics but an attitude of openness and tolerance.""They should carry through on those pledges, " Rice told reporters after numerous reports that an unspecified terrorist plot to disrupt the Games in co-host city Shanghai had been broken up. Chinese officials have said East Turkestan Islamic Movement, or ETIM, has been plotting terror attacks on games venues as part of their decades-long fight against Chinese rule.Neither Rice nor Clark said they had any specific concerns about the safety of U.S. or New Zealand athletes who will compete although Clark said that any disturbances should be "dealt with proportionality and due restraint."While the event has become a magnet for critics of the government, ranging from free-speech advocates to activists over Tibet and Sudan's troubled Darfur region, most experts say the actual threat to the Beijing Games from terrorism is low.As in the days of Noah...
