It is less than five months until 8:08 p.m. on 8/8/08, the start of the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

You don't think the Chinese are superstitious about the number eight, do you?

That lucky number is one tiny sliver in a mountain of information we could garner about the mysterious -- or maybe that should be shrouded -- Communist country with about a billion more people than the United States.

We know about lead paint on toys and tainted pet food, and most of us have a vague idea about the oppressive political climate, having heard about forced abortions and infanticide, about political prisoners and dismal human rights.

The recent uprising by those seeking independence in Tibet has sparked violent clashes with Chinese forces, reminding us about China's steel-fisted rule.

The unrest also has brought to the surface suggestions of a boycott of the Olympics, or at least some sort of protest.

Sorry, but the time for deciding whether China deserved to stage the Olympics passed when Beijing was awarded the 2008 Games.

That in no way diminishes the loss of life in Tibet or condones unfit living conditions or atrocities that occur in China.

But striking out at China by undermining the Olympics would serve no purpose other than to punish the athletes, coaches and fans. It's highly doubtful it would change anything internally in China and might even make things worse for some if embarrassed leaders lash out or abandon the notion of trying to look good for the rest of the world.

Luckily, the latest cry for a boycott seems to have quickly settled into a whimper.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner suggested that the European Union follow a proposal this week from Reporters Without Borders, which is calling for boycott of the opening ceremony.

Kouchner then backed down some, saying that while skipping the opening ceremony was a good idea, he doubted it could be pulled off.

So far, governments and various Olympic committees have been silent about or eschewed notions of a boycott, but there likely will be more calls for action against China in relation to the Olympics.

There will be ample opportunity, for example, during the torch relay, which will go into Tibet and up Mount Everest in May.

Reporters Without Borders, which advocates press freedom, doesn't look to let up in its campaign against the Olympics. That includes the sale of black T-shirts with a logo of interlocked handcuffs instead of the brightly colored Olympic rings.

While it's true freedom of the press is a hope, not a reality, in China, the Olympics will see reporters from around the globe pour into Beijing to evaluate some things for themselves while chronicling the sporting events.

They might be mere sports journalists, but they're not naive enough to think what they'll see isn't scrubbed and sugarcoated. And then dipped in a caldron of public relations swill.

Still, it could be a start.

The United States boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980 in protest over the Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan, and the Soviets retaliated by keeping their athletes away from the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

It would be difficult for anyone to say those moves made any difference in the ending of the Cold War or the fall of the Soviet Union.

Everyone needs to act on their conscience -- director Steven Spielberg withdrew as artistic adviser for the Games because he doesn't believe China is doing enough to pressure Sudan to end the horrific violence in Darfur.

Yet we need to continue to hope that having the Olympics in Beijing will do a lot more good than any boycott might.

For months there have been classes in parks teaching people things such as how to be polite by Western standards and how to speak some basic English phrases. The Chinese have built beautiful, ultramodern buildings and cleaned up a lot of blight around Beijing.

Yes, we're left to wonder what became of the poor who were displaced by such a large-scale cleanup, but maybe, just maybe, the all-out attempt by the Chinese government to put on a good face during the Olympics will effect a change for the better there after the Games.

China is opening its doors to the rest of us to have a look, to in some way bridge the knowledge gap between us and about one-fifth of the world's population.

The fact the Chinese are doing it through sports is significant.

Sports can and does stand tall against political strife. It's not so much defiance as resistance and resilience.

If there really is an Olympic spirit, let it loose on Beijing to do its thing.