Senator Clinton is calling on President Bush to skip the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Beijing to protest China’s violent suppression of protests in Tibet and China’s lackluster efforts to end the genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region.

“The violent clashes in Tibet and the failure of the Chinese government to use its full leverage with Sudan to stop the genocide in Darfur are opportunities for presidential leadership. These events underscore why I believe the Bush administration has been wrong to downplay human rights in its policy towards China,” Mrs. Clinton said in a written statement yesterday. “At this time, and in light of recent events, I believe President Bush should not plan on attending the opening ceremonies in Beijing, absent major changes by the Chinese government.”

With her announcement, Mrs. Clinton became the first major presidential candidate and the highest-ranking American politician to urge political leaders to boycott the opening ceremonies. Last week, the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, encouraged Mr. Bush to consider such a move, but she did not endorse it outright.

High-ranking officials in Europe, including Chancellor Merkel of Germany, Prime Minister Tusk of Poland, and President Klaus of the Czech Republic have already announced plans to snub the opening gala. President Sarkozy of France has said he would consider such a move.

At a press briefing yesterday, a spokesman for Mr. Bush, Tony Fratto, said the president did not favor an American boycott of the games. However, the White House did not respond directly to a request for comment on Mrs. Clinton’s appeal for Mr. Bush to skip the opening festivities.

“We have a great deal of concern about human rights in China, and the tools that are available to people in free democracies, free speech, and freedom of assembly. And we have never been afraid to express those views,” Mr. Fratto said. “The Olympics will take place, and we expect the … American qualifying Olympic athletes to participate in those games.”

Mrs. Clinton’s call for a partial boycott came as the passage of the Olympic torch caused chaos in the streets of Paris. The torch was extinguished for a time after protesters repeatedly lunged at it. Police eventually moved the torch and the torchbearers onto a bus to keep them at a distance from demonstrators, who were protesting China’s repression of the press as well as Beijing’s crackdown in Tibet.

The torch is scheduled to arrive in San Francisco tomorrow, for its only visit to America before the August games. San Francisco officials are bracing for thousands of protesters pressing issues related to Tibet and Darfur, as well as Beijing’s suppression of a religious sect, Falun Gong, and the communist regime’s difficult relationship with the democratic government in Taiwan. Demonstrators are planning to wear color-coded T-shirts to identify their cause.

A leading critic of the violence in Sudan, Jill Savitt of Dream for Darfur, hailed Mrs. Clinton’s decision to endorse the call for Mr. Bush to skip the opening ceremonies, set for August 8 in Beijing. “I think Mrs. Clinton gets it exactly right,” Ms. Savitt said. “I applaud what she’s saying and I think every politician and every candidate should say the same thing.”

Ms. Savitt noted that Mrs. Clinton did not make an irrevocable call for a boycott, but said Mr. Bush should plan on not attending the opening unless China moves aggressively to improve its record.

“I think the International Olympic Committee and the Chinese government has not realized that this has been seven years in the making. These issues could have been addressed and dealt with. These were inevitable, these protests,” Ms. Savitt said.

A spokeswoman for pro-Tibet activists, Mary Beth Markey of the International Campaign for Tibet, said she was pleased with Mrs. Clinton’s announcement. “I appreciate the senator’s leadership. I hope that should she arrive in the White House that she will hold on to this strong commitment on human rights in China,” Ms. Markey said.

Asked if Senator Obama or Senator McCain should join Mrs. Clinton’s calls, the spokeswoman said, “Yes, absolutely — or stronger.”

The presidential campaign of Mr. McCain did not respond to requests for comment on Mrs. Clinton’s announcement. Mr. Obama said yesterday through a spokesman: “I have been deeply disturbed by the recent events in Tibet, and have communicated my concerns in public and to President Bush. As I have said repeatedly, the Chinese government must take immediate steps to respect the dignity, security, human rights, and religious freedom of the Tibetan people, to provide foreign press and diplomats with access to the region, and to finally work with the Dalai Lama toward meaningful autonomy for Tibet. If they do not, there should be consequences.”

Ms. Markey said she was disappointed that Mr. Bush was pressing forward with plans to attend the Olympics and has not spoken out directly against the repression in Tibet. “The president calls himself a human rights president,” she said. “It does seem a little incongruous.”

White House officials have said Mr. Bush telephoned President Hu of China to express concern and to call for a dialogue with Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. However, Mr. Bush has not publicly inveighed against Beijing’s crackdown.

Mrs. Clinton did not call on athletes to skip either the opening ceremonies or the games themselves. “Americans will stand strong in support of freedom of religious and political expression and human rights. Americans will also stand strong and root for the success of American athletes who have worked hard and earned the right to compete in the Olympic Games of 2008,” she said.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington had no immediate comment on Mrs. Clinton’s statement.