The Beijing Olympic Games are under the auspices of the Tibet protests, and although not directly linked to sport, it is linked to China, which urged many freedom-of-speech advocates to ask officials in participant countries to boycott the opening ceremony that is set to take place at Beijing, a Tuesday’s announcement said.

First Reporters Without Borders (RSF in French), now state officials? Public figures begin to take attitude, and even the French authorities seem to think boycotting the opening ceremony isn’t such a bad idea after all. The Associated Press reported that France’s Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the European Union should take a stand if the violence in Tibet will continue.

The plans of course are not targeting the Olympic Games in its whole, just the award ceremony, and that is something Chinese authorities should take into consideration and think about, as more states could affiliate to the current proposal.

"China has not respected any of the promises it made in 2001, when it was chosen to host the next Olympics. On the contrary, the government is brutally repressing Tibetan demonstrations and imposing a total black-out on information," RSF said, Reuters reports. “The world’s political authorities can no longer remain silent in the face of such a situation.”

What was supposed to be a grandiose experience turned into an opportunity for freedom-of-speech advocates to express their disapproval with China’s handling the Tibet situation. There have been too many preparations for the Games not to take place, and it is less likely that somebody would want that, but at the same time, the Games have been put under a cone of shadow due to the stubbornness of the Chinese authorities.

Regarding the Olympic, the Chinese government promised to practice more openness to journalists, but is seems as if they have completely forgotten their promise now. If we think of it, China might have its own plan of handling the situation, and listening to criticism from all around the world isn’t quite easy. The one thing sport fans should wish for right now is that the Olympic Games to be what we expected: an extraordinary event to remember.