Thread: Bush's 'message of freedom' for China.

Bush's 'message of freedom' for China.

George Bush has vowed to take a 'message of freedom' with him when he travels to China for the Olympics next month.

By Our Foreign Staff
Last Updated: 12:17AM BST 30 Jul 2008

The US president met five Chinese "freedom activists" yesterday to discuss his concerns about human rights in China, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement.

"The president assured them that he will carry the message of freedom as he travels to Beijing for the games, just as he has regularly made this a priority in all of his meetings with Chinese officials," she said.

The White House said Bush met activists Harry Wu, Wei Jingsheng, Rebiya Kadeer, Dr. Sasha Gong, and Bob Fu.

"He told the activists that engagement with Chinese leaders gives him an opportunity to make the United States' position clear - human rights and religious freedom should not be denied to anyone," Perino said.

"The president asked them about their personal experiences in their peaceful efforts to press for more freedom in China," she added.

Perino said the five "welcomed the president's strong commitment to human rights and religious freedom and urged him to continue to deliver that message not only to the Chinese leadership but also to all the people of China."

The White House said Bush also "dropped by" a meeting on Tuesday between his National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

"The president reviewed current bilateral relations with the foreign minister; as well as his desire to see a successful Olympics, and noted that this presents the Chinese with an opportunity to demonstrate compassion on human rights and freedom," Perino said.

Bush has said he will attend the August 8 opening ceremony of the games after rejecting appeals from activists to boycott the event in protest over China's human rights record.

The president has rejected calls from rights groups to boycott the start of the summer games, insisting that would have been an "affront" to the Chinese people making it harder for him to talk candidly to their leaders about human rights concerns.

With the games scheduled to open on August 8, Amnesty International issued a scathing assessment of China's record on Tuesday, saying many of its citizens' protections and freedoms have shrunk since Beijing won the right to hold the Olympics.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... China.html

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