A Chinese confusion or PR owngoal?

About turn or not?As Gordon Brown announces that he will not be attending the opening ceremony of the Olympics,the government claims that it was never his intention to go.

Nick Robinson reports that

Downing Street sources insist that the Chinese government were never in any doubt that Gordon Brown intended to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. They say that the prime minister made this clear to China's Premier Wen when they met recently in Beijing. What's more, a letter sent by China's ambassador to London on the 5th of April informs No 10 that the Chinese premier was looking forward to welcoming the PM at the closing ceremony.

But is this simply a case of mismanagement? Again Nick seems to have the inside gossip

The problem for Team Brown is that he and they have never stated clearly and publicly their man's position. Thus they stand accused of making a U-turn in the face of public pressure when, it would appear, they have done no such thing. They have, however, been guilty - once again - of an utterly avoidable PR own goal.

James Kirkup thinks Gordon is becoming somewhat of a joke

But is there some truth in what Nick Clegg says which is reported in this morning's Guardian which reports he said

Brown was suffering from "strained semantics" and it was "a belated U-turn" as Brown had never said in public that he would be absent. The Downing Street confirmation was "part of a pattern, when he only does the right thing late in the day when he is forced to do so by public opinion,"

James Forsyth is under no illusions

Gordon Brown’s position on the Beijing Olympics is becoming more absurd by the day. He’s happy to have the Olympic flame surrounded by guards from a particularly unsavoury branch of the Chinese security services in Downing Street but not to touch it himself. Now, he’s planning to skip the opening ceremony but doesn’t want anyone thinking that he is snubbing or boycotting the event.

I suppose that I have a bit of the problem with all this talk of boycott etc.After all China is not different now to when it was selected to be the host nation.It is not a democracy,has a bad record on human rights and constantly intervenes in the administration of its diverse ethnic makeup.Tibet is just another example of a long history of oppression