The Associated Press

Fri, Mar 28, 2008 (10:07 a.m.)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says China has not lived up to its commitments to improve human rights conditions but that it would be a mistake to boycott the Beijing Olympics.

"I believe a boycott of the Beijing Olympics would unfairly harm our athletes who have worked so hard to prepare for the competition," she said Friday in a statement.

Pelosi, D-Calif., has long been an outspoken critic of Beijing's human rights policies, and drew fire from the Chinese for her visit with the Dalai Lama in India last week for discussions on the suppression of anti-Chinese disturbances in Tibet.