Pacific leaders to attend Beijing Olympics
Updated
Fiji's interim prime minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama will attend the Beijing Olympics.
Fijilive reports the commodore leaves for China on Wednesday and has been invited to the opening ceremony.
He's also expected to host a Fiji function in Beijing on August 10th.
Interim Sports Minister Filipe Bole is also attending.
Samoa's head of state Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi has also confirmed he'll be at the opening ceremony.
Samoa is sending six athletes to Beijing.
The state-run Xinhua news agency quotes his highness saying the current relations between Samoa and China are excellent.
Samoa donated $US100,000 to China's Sichuan earthquake victims, while China built sports facilities for last year's South Pacific Games and sent Chinese coaches to Samoa.
China has often been accused of using chequebook diplomacy in the Pacific, in a bid to secure diplomatic recognition ahead of Taiwan.
