Sat, Feb 23, 2002 page1

• Bush urges Beijing to respect freedoms

  MEETING THE MASSES The US president told students at Tsinghua University that, although he backed Washington's `one China' policy, the US promised to `help Taiwan defend herself if provoked'

  • AP
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  US President George W. Bush urged China yesterday to embrace religious freedom and political dissent, offering the US as a model and worrying that people in this vast land "do not always see a clear picture of my country."

  Standing before students at Tsinghua University, Bush was challenged on US policy toward Taiwan, missile defense plans, and crime in America. The appearance was broadcast live on Chinese state television.

  "Life in America shows that liberty, paired with law, is not to be feared," Bush said. "In a free society, diversity is not disorder. Debate is not strife. And dissent is not revolution."

  

  President George W. Bush shakes hands with China's Vice President Hu Jintao just before speaking to students yesterday at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

  PHOTO: AP

  At the university, more than 200 students -- half listening to interpreters through headphones, the other half following in English -- applauded politely as Bush ended his speech and began a question-and-answer session. Dozens of hands shot up into the air.

  The first question was a double-barreled challenge to US policy on Taiwan and Bush's missile defense plans, topics that divide the two nations. Bush repeated his views on both, calling for "peaceful dialogue" on Taiwan and telling China not to fear missile defense.

  The audience applauded loudly when Bush reaffirmed America's "one China" policy, which acknowledges that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait believe there is only one China.

  Later, a testy questioner said "it's a pity you still haven't given us a clear" answer about China's right to keep Taiwan under its control.

  "We're back on Taiwan again!" Bush replied with a laugh. "This seems to be a topic on people's minds, obviously. I can't say it any more clearly than I'm anxious that there be a peaceful resolution .... I hope it happens in my lifetime. And I hope it happens in yours. It'll be an important milestone."

  Bush avoided the issue of whether his plans for a missile defense system for the US would extend to Taiwan, but said he honors the Taiwan Relations Act, "which says we will help Taiwan defend herself if provoked."

  "We've also sent the same message that there should be no provocation by either party,"Bush said.

  The address at Tsinghua, on the site of the former royal gardens of the Qing Dynasty, was the last major event on Bush's six-day journey to China, South Korea and Japan. The president had a private lunch with Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民) and made a quick visit to the Great Wall, which he visited as a tourist in 1975.

  "The wall's the same,'' he remarked. ``Different country."

  Following a 13-hour flight home, the president and first lady Laura Bush planned to spend the weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David.

  Bush's visit to China was the subject of a phone call yesterday between Jiang and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Jiang told Putin about his discussions with Bush, and Putin expressed support for the warming of US-China relations, saying they were important for "international stability and security," the Kremlin press service said.

  Earlier Friday, Bush completed the rounds of Chinese leadership by having breakfast with Premier Zhu Rongji (朱鎔基) and meeting briefly with Vice President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), the leading candidate to succeed Jiang next year.

  Hu introduced Bush to Tsinghua students, saying he wants to develop a relationship with the US based on "mutual respect, treatment of each other as equals and a seeking of consensus."

  Depicted before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as having a go-it-alone foreign policy, Bush assured more than one questioner in Beijing that he is committed to working with other nations toward peaceful resolution of global troubles.

  Bush made his appeal in highly personal tones, although he failed in talks here to persuade Jiang to halt sales of missile technology or soften China's stance on religious freedoms.

  Standing underneath a banner bearing the Chinese characters for "self-reliance and social commitment," Bush spoke in measured tones, trying to avoid lecturing the Chinese. But his unmistakable message was that the human spirit thrives better in America than in China.

  "As America learns more about China, I am concerned that the Chinese people do not always see a clear picture of my country," Bush said.

  "My friend, the ambassador to China, tells me some Chinese textbooks talk of Americans `bullying the weak and repressing the poor,'" he continued. "Another Chinese textbook, published just last year, teaches that special agents of the FBI are used to `repress the working people.' Now, neither of these is true."

  While the US has its share of problems and faults, the freedoms it offers shine "as a beacon of hope and opportunity, a reason many throughout the world dream of coming to America."

  Americans relish their liberty, abide by their laws, limit the powers of their leaders and respect others' right to religious worship, Bush said.

  His declaration, met by silence from the students, rebutted Jiang's statement, "I don't have religious faith," at a news conference one day earlier.

  Jiang had been questioned by two American reporters about Beijing's detention of Catholic bishops.

  In response, he insisted his government allows its people to worship freely and that the Catholic bishops were simply "lawbreakers."

  Aides said Bush had not been convinced and yesterday, he told students he prays for the day when all Chinese can freely worship.

  The Chinese government believes that religious activity destabilizes society. Religious leaders are regularly accused of such things as rape, fraud, assault and arson.

  Human rights activists accuse the government of filing false criminal charges to avoid being accused of suppressing religious freedom.

  "Freedom of religion is not something to be feared, but to be welcomed," Bush said.

  Bush did experience one hitch to his Beijing tour yesterday, when his limousine blew a tire as he traveled to lunch with Jiang.

  Bush was traveling on a highway to the Zhongnanhai Compound adjacent to the Forbidden City.

  When the tire blew out, Bush had to walk to a backup armored limousine, stalling the motorcade's progress for several minutes.

  He made the switch out of the view of journalists who travel with him.

  The hobbled limo limped to the compound at the end of the motorcade.
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