"As China reforms its economy," the president said, "its leaders are finding that once the door to freedom is opened even a crack, it cannot be closed. As the people of China grow in prosperity, their demands for political freedom will grow as well."
Bush also lectured China about opening its economy to foreign competition to narrow the expected $200 billion trade surplus with the United States. "China needs to provide a level playing field for American businesses seeking access to China's market," Bush said. Further, he said, China must fulfill its promise to move toward a more market-based currency.
China's foreign minister brushed off Bush's comments about Taiwan and political freedoms.
"We have to work hard and not pay attention to those people who talk about this or that, upsetting our sense of self, especially when it comes to our love of the motherland," Li Zhaoxing told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of Pacific Rim economies in South Korea.
Without mentioning Taiwan directly, Li said all people in the greater China region "can work well together to preserve stability and achieve prosperity," he said.
In separate remarks shown on Hong Kong Cable TV, Li also defended China's human rights record, saying "everything we do is for improving the people's livelihood, that includes guaranteeing the people's material rights, political rights and cultural and education rights and democratic development rights, and so on."
Bush's warm words about Taiwan could chill his reception in Beijing later this week when the president, to make a point about religious freedom, also plans to worship at one of five officially recognized Protestant churches in the city.
Bush said Chinese President Hu Jintao has asserted that his vision of "peaceful development" will make the Chinese people more prosperous.
"I have pointed out that the people of China want more freedom to express themselves to worship without state control, to print Bibles and other sacred texts without fear of punishment," Bush said.
By talking about Taiwan, Bush was raising an issue that has been a major U.S.-Chinese irritant.
Taiwan, 100 miles off China's southern coast, split from the mainland when nationalist leaders fled there in 1949 during China's civil war. Since then, Beijing has threatened repeatedly to use force against the self-governed island that China claims as its own.
The island has had de facto independence for more than 50 years, largely because of American support. U.S. officials were taken aback when a Chinese general said last July that Beijing might respond with nuclear weapons if the U.S. were to attack China in a conflict over Taiwan. Maj. Gen. Zhu Chenghu, a dean at China's National Defense University, said that was his personal view and not government policy.
While saluting Taiwan's progress and urging China to take more steps, Bush stressed that the United States was not changing its official policy that there is one China _ including Taiwan _ or its position that there should be no unilateral attempt to change the status quo by either side. The United States continues to stress a need for dialogue between China and Taiwan "that leads to a peaceful resolution of their differences," Bush said.
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On the Net:
CIA Fact Book on Japan: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ja.html
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation: http://www.apecsec.org.sg/
