原文 Bush phones China's president about Tibet protesters
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush called Chinese President Hu Jintao Wednesday to express his concern about China's crackdown on protesters in Tibet, the White House said. Bush also "encouraged the Chinese government to engage in substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama's representatives and to allow access for journalists and diplomats," the statement said. Protesters say about 140 of their number have died in the past several weeks during the longest-running uprisings in Tibet against Chinese rule in 20 years. The protests have brought a spotlight to China's spotty human rights record and embarrassed its Communist leaders in the weeks before the Olympic Games in Beijing. Chinese authorities have issued a much lower death toll and said most of those killed were "innocent victims" -- Han Chinese targeted by Tibetans. The U.S. will not boycott the Olympics, the White House has said, maintaining the games are about athletics, not politics. The protests have been timed to coincide with the run-up to the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing in August. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday he was leaving open the possibility he may skip the opening ceremonies because of the protests.