Bush in East Asia: 'Freedom is an Asian value'
UNITED NATIONS — Speaking amid the shimmering autumnal splendor of Kyoto’s historic Golden Temple, President George W. Bush embarked on a pivotal if controversial visit to East Asia. The trip was about renewing friendships, expanding trade opportunities, and ensuring regional security. Above all it presented the clear reaffirmation of the freedom philosophy.
First and foremost, Bush underscored the crucial ties between the U.S. and Japan, “The relationship between the United States and Japan is a vital relationship, and it's a very strong relationship…We've got a good friend in Japan when it comes to spreading democracy and freedom.”
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi concurred, “The U.S. is our most indispensable ally. The better our bilateral relations, the easier it is to establish better relations with other countries."
According to the Japan Times, “Koizumi addressed critics both in Japan and East Asia who claim that, since becoming prime minister in 2001, he has placed too much emphasis on the relationship with the U.S. at the expense of relations with Asia. "There is no such thing as the U.S.-Japan relationship being too close. . . . It is easier to have better relations with South Korea and China if we have better relations with the U.S.," he said.
Indeed Japan has proven a key partner in the war on terror by sending non-combat troops to Iraq and promoting major foreign aid programs in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Washington in turn has reaffirmed its position to help Tokyo gain a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Importantly Japan provides a security counterweight to communist China’s growing military power and the menacing nuclear stance of North Korea.
But in a landmark Kyoto address certain to encourage fears among the Marxist Mandarins in Beijing’s Forbidden City, Bush rightly praised the free and democratic societies in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan adding that the Chinese people had “legitimate demands for more freedom of speech and religion.” The President stated that “As China reforms its economy, 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 stressed the need for religious freedoms “to worship without state control, and to print Bibles and other scared texts without fear of punishment.”
Many media outlets lambasted Bush for his apparent criticism, rebuke, or chastisement of Communist China—especially by presenting PRC rival Taiwan as an alternative model. In fact the President was offering Beijing a golden opportunity to reform its system before the growing and glaring contradiction of its expanding socio/economic opportunities collides with its closed and constructive communist political system.
Bush stressed, “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.” He carefully added though, “Our one China policy remains unchanged. “ In other words it’s up to the Chinese themselves to resolve their division.
"Societies become more stable as they give more say to their people. What I will say to China and other countries is that a free society is in your interest. We support the one-China policy, and neither side should change the status quo," Bush later told a news conference lest his remarks be misinterpreted as endorsing Taiwan independence.
Concerning the also divided Korean peninsula Bush advised, “The United States is also concerned with the fate of freedom in Northeast Asia, where great powers have collided in the past. The Korean Peninsula is still caught in the past. An armistice — a truce — freezes the battle lines from a war that has never really come to an end. The pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens to destabilize the region.”
Stressing diplomacy the President said, “China, Japan, and Russia have joined with the United States and South Korea to find a way to help bring peace and freedom to this troubled peninsula. The six-party talks have produced commitments to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons. These commitments must be implemented.”
In his clear clarion call for wider Asian democracy in this new century, President Bush stated, “In the 21st century, freedom is an Asian value — because it is a universal value. It is freedom that enables the citizens of Asia to live lives of dignity. It is freedom that has unleashed the creative talents of the Asian people. And in the work that lies ahead, the people of this region can know: You have a partner in the American government — and a friend in the American people.”
Is it impolite to suggest that such freedoms are too much to ask for the people of Mainland China?
John J. Metzler is a U.N. correspondent covering diplomatic and defense
issues. He writes weekly for World Tribune.com.  |
