By Caren Bohan
Reuters
Tuesday, November 15, 2005; 9:49 PM

KYOTO, Japan (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush urged China to do more to allow political and religious freedom to flourish on Wednesday, holding up Taiwan as a model of a free and democratic society.

In remarks likely to touch a nerve with Beijing ahead of his visit there on Saturday, Bush cited communist-run China as an example of a society that has taken steps toward freedom but has "not yet completed the journey."

He painted a different picture of Taiwan, the self-ruled island over which China claims sovereignty. Bush reiterated support for a "one-China" policy, however.

"Modern Taiwan is free and democratic and prosperous. By embracing freedom at all levels, Taiwan has delivered prosperity to its people and created a free and democratic Chinese society," Bush said in prepared remarks for a speech in Kyoto, western Japan.

Bush is in Japan at the start of a weeklong, four-nation trip in which North Korea's nuclear program, China trade and the threat posed by bird flu are high on the agenda. His tour will take him to South Korea later on Wednesday and Mongolia on Monday.

The trip, which comes as Bush is beset by political woes at home, centers on the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Pusan, South Korea.

Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 in keeping with a "one China" policy, but continues to be the democratic island's strongest backer. Bush has said he would do "whatever it takes" to defend Taiwan but has also urged it to refrain from taking independence-minded steps that might provoke China.

Bush reiterated in the speech that neither side should take steps to change the status quo.

In Pusan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said he "had not noticed" Bush's remarks on Taiwan but said U.S.-China relations were generally "making progress."

Bush said he believed a push for further freedoms would grow within China.

"As China reforms its economy, its leaders are finding that once the door to freedom is opened even a crack, it cannot be closed," he said.

Bush had tough words for North Korea and Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and said that unlike China they had "not taken even the first steps toward freedom."

He criticized "widespread" abuses by the Burmese military, saying they include "rape, torture, execution and forced relocation."

Bush cited satellite pictures showing prison camps in North Korea "the size of whole cities" and said the country's pursuit of nuclear weapons threatened to destabilize the region.

A November 8 report issued by the Bush administration named China, North Korea, Vietnam and Myanmar among the eight most "countries of particular concern" for serious violations of religious freedom.

In China, which restricts religious practice to state-sanctioned groups, "religious leaders and adherents, including those in official churches, were detained, arrested or sentenced to prison or reeducation-through-labor camps," the report said.

Bush met later on Wednesday with Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, whom he called "one of my best friends in the international community." The two visited the Kinkakuji temple, also known as Golden Pavilion and then held talks.

Bush in his speech said he saw Japan as a democratic role model for Asia and a "pillar of stability and security for the region."

In a speech that laid out many of the themes he will focus on during his weeklong visit to Asia, Bush again pressed China to take further steps to liberalize its currency and open its domestic market to U.S. exports.

Bush said China's access to American markets had played an important role in its development as an economic power, and he noted that the United States had supported China's entry into the World Trade Organization.

In return, he said, "China needs to provide a level playing field for American businesses seeking access to China's market."

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, speaking to reporters in Pusan on Tuesday, said China would proceed with currency reform "according to our country's situation and relevant laws."

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Masayuki Kitano)