Some kind of boycott of the Beijing Olympics now looks a real possibility. Too much has happened in recent weeks for China to hope that the talk of sanctions and protests will fade as the games approach.
Those who object to the Chinese Communist party's authoritarian rule at home and its ties with dictators abroad - the aggrieved parties include Tibetans, Burmese, Sudanese and the western campaigners who support their various causes - have seized the opportunity for publicity presented by the Olympics.
