More than ten Czech government officials will go to Beijing Olympics

Eleven senior representatives will attend the Beijing Olympics according to the newspaper Mladá Fronta Dnes. Factions within the government as well as numerous Czech NGOs remain highly critical of the regime in China. Chief among the Czech official delegation will be Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek – although he will be missing the opening ceremony on Friday. Ondřej Liska, Minister of Education and member of the Green Party will not be attending, despite being one of only a handful of Czech politicians to receive an official invitation. In several instances, high-level politicians will be represented by their deputies, while Interior Minister Ivan Langer is believed to be attending the Games as a private citizen.