Bush Calls On China to End Religious Persecution

President Bush today called for an end to religious persecution in China, less than 24 hours after Chinese President Jiang Zemin asserted that “religious faiths are protected by our constitution.”

In a nationally televised address here, Bush also called for free elections “all the way to the national level.”

The president spoke at Qinghua University, one of China’s most prestigious colleges, telling his mostly young audience of several hundred that the changes he advocates will lead to “a stronger, more confident China”--a nation Bush has described as a “strategic competitor.”

Although the president sought to soften his words by singing the praises of China, the import of his remarks was unmistakable: The nation would do well to follow America’s example on democracy and religious freedom.

“Nobody’s interest is served by not speaking forthrightly and honestly about our differences,” one senior administration official said of Bush’s comments.

After his formal remarks, the president fielded questions from students.

Blame Called Bilateral

Bush believes that much of the world doesn’t understand the United States and what it stands for, so he chose a prominent platform--Communist-ruled China, his last stop on a six-day Asian tour--to speak about American values.

As he put it here today, “I am concerned that the Chinese people do not always see a clear picture of my country.”

Then Bush blamed both nations for that gulf, citing, for instance, “our movies and television shows [that] often do not portray the values of the real America I know.”

He also denounced as “misleading and harmful” some Chinese textbooks that talk of Americans “bullying the weak and repressing the poor” and allege that FBI agents “repress the working people.”

Bush acknowledged that the United States “has its share of problems and faults,” but he stressed that America, in his view, leads the world on a journey toward the universal ideal of “equality and justice.”

The president began his discussion on faith and religious freedom by describing himself as among the 95% of Americans who believe in God--a striking contrast to Jiang’s declaration at their joint news conference Thursday that “I don’t have religious faith.”

Bush continued, “Freedom of religion is not something to be feared but to be welcomed, because faith gives us a moral core and teaches us to hold ourselves to high standards, to love and to serve others and to live responsible lives.”

The president noted that “tens of millions” of Chinese are practicing religion, and he said pointedly: “Regardless of where or how these believers worship, they are no threat to public order; in fact, they make good citizens. For centuries, this country had a tradition of religious tolerance. My prayer is that all persecution will end--so that all in China are free to gather and worship as they wish.”

According to White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, the Chinese government agreed to broadcast Bush’s Qinghua appearance live and in its entirety.

Bush’s respectful demeanor belied the toughness of his words.

In calling for national elections, for example, he observed that “secret ballot and competitive elections at the local level” are already a reality, noting that it was the late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping who two decades ago said that eventually there would be nationwide elections.

“I look forward to that day,” Bush said.

The president exuded confidence and ease during the question-and-answer period, even when two students pressed him on U.S. policy toward Taiwan, which Beijing considers a rogue province. The president broke no new ground, saying: “It’s been my government’s policy for a long period of time. And I haven’t changed it.”

When the Chinese interpreter mistakenly began translating one of Bush’s answers by also speaking English, Bush quipped: “She’s correcting my English.”

When another student suggested that Bush’s twin daughters, also college students, might study at Qinghua, the president demurred, joking, “I’m afraid they don’t listen to me anymore . . . if you know what I mean.”

Then he added: “I hope they do come here. It is an amazing country.”

Bush’s speech at Qinghua marked his second appearance on live television during his 30-hour visit to Beijing. The broadcast was carried by state-run China Central Television, which reaches hundreds of millions of viewers.

The network also aired the Bush-Jiang news conference Thursday afternoon--an echo of the groundbreaking live news conference Jiang held with then-President Clinton here in 1998.

But whereas that session lasted more than an hour and covered a wide variety of issues, including the 1989 Tiananmen Square killings of democracy demonstrators, Thursday’s news conference was narrower in scope, more muted in tone and lasted just 37 minutes.

Before the news conference, Bush and Jiang met for about 90 minutes. They discussed an array of bilateral and global issues, agreeing on some and disagreeing on others.

But as Jiang put it afterward, China and the United States “should step up dialogue and cooperation, properly handle their differences and work together.”

Embracing that theme, Bush said, “We believe that we can discuss our differences with mutual understanding and respect.”

As one sign of their commitment to broaden U.S.-China contacts, the leaders announced that Jiang, as well as his likely successor, Vice President Hu Jintao, will visit the United States. Jiang is expected in October; no date has been set for Hu’s visit to Washington, where he will meet with Vice President Dick Cheney.

In addition, Commerce Secretary Don Evans will lead a trade mission to China this year.

“We have agreed to vigorously carry out bilateral exchanges and cooperation in such areas as economy and trade, energy, science and technology, environmental protection, the prevention of HIV/AIDS and law enforcement,” Bush said.

Bush and Jiang also held “an extensive discussion” of the war on terrorism, according to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.

Bush later said that he had asked Jiang to consider helping convey Washington’s long-standing offer for dialogue to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Rice said Jiang made no specific commitment to do so.

Asked about the Bush administration’s deliberations over a possible military strike against Iraq, Jiang urged caution, saying, “The important thing is that peace is to be valued most.”

In his State of the Union address last month, Bush described Iraq, North Korea and Iran as “an axis of evil.”

Weapons Proliferation

Rice told reporters that Bush also pressed Jiang to implement the terms of a November 2000 agreement to help curb the proliferation of weapons-related technologies.

Until China cracks down on companies that export military equipment, Rice said, the U.S. will not lift sanctions Washington has imposed on several Chinese firms suspected of shipping dual-use technologies to countries such as Pakistan and Iran.

As he did during his first meeting with Jiang, in October, Bush initiated a lengthy discussion of faith and religious freedom.

During their private talks, Bush didn’t raise any individual cases involving possible religious persecution but rather “talked more institutionally . . . about China moving forward on a commitment to religious freedom,” Rice said.

“It was a friendly discussion,” she said.

But the topic took on a different tenor during the news conference when two U.S. reporters pressed Jiang about the degree of religious freedom in China. After each reporter’s question, Jiang stood mute and stone-faced at the podium--producing a brief but awkward silence in the vast auditorium of the Great Hall of the People. Then he signaled to the Chinese officiator to call on a Chinese journalist for the next question.

Jiang may have been caught off-guard by having questions posed to him directly by foreign journalists. A source familiar with the arrangements said Beijing had proposed that questions be limited to four total, two for Bush from U.S. reporters and two for Jiang from Chinese journalists.

The two U.S. reporters, however, asked questions of both Bush and Jiang.

Despite the incident, Jiang, 75, seemed no worse for the wear. At a banquet Thursday night, he was in a partying mood, dancing with First Lady Laura Bush, Rice and others, while Bush sat out the numbers.

Later, Jiang summoned an accordion player and then with gusto sang “O Sole Mio” in Italian.