Bush prods China but pulls punches

Opening a week-long visit to Asia, George W. Bush urged Beijing to model its development on Taiwan - the island that mainland China claims as its territory - which he hailed as an example of a "prosperous, free and democratic China".

Speaking in the Japanese city of Kyoto on the first leg of his four-country journey, Bush prodded China to continue along the path of reform, arguing that China's economic liberalisation would inevitably open up its political system as well.

Endorsing the "legitimate demands" of China's 1.3 billion citizens for "freedom and openness," the President followed up with a warning that, whether the country's leadership liked it or not, change would come.

"Men and women who are allowed to control their own wealth will eventually insist on controlling their own lives and future as well."

He also urged China to permit full freedom of religion - a point Bush will underline when he worships at one of Beijing's five officially sanctioned Protestant churches at the weekend.

Nonetheless the President was clearly pulling some punches - a reflection of the delicate balance to be struck between pursuing his goal of spreading democracy around the world, yet not creating unnecessary extra tension with a key economic partner and a country crucial for stability in Asia.

For that reason he chose to make his speech at the start of his trip in Japan, rather than in China itself where it would have caused far greater offence. He also avoided criticism of specific human rights abuses by the Beijing regime.

Nor - though his meaning was plain in the lavish praise he heaped on Taiwan - did he directly compare the two regimes in the same sentence.

"My message is universal, not necessarily trying to compare one system to another," he told journalists before leaving for South Korea and the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Busan. "What I say to the Chinese as well as other others is that a free society is in your interests."

He also reiterated Washington's long-standing "one-China policy", which opposes Taiwanese independence and recognises only one China and aims to see the mainland and the island reunite peacefully.

Any flattering reference to Taiwan by a US official is automatically guaranteed to annoy Beijing. But as their part of the minuet, Chinese officials kept their real thoughts to themselves.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said he "had not noticed" the President's praise for Taiwan, and insisted that Sino-American relations were "making progress."

After the Apec summit, Bush travels to China for talks with President Hu Jintao and other leaders, before a stopover in Mongolia - the first time an American President has set foot in that country.

In Beijing the two leaders will discuss the risk of a bird flu pandemic, bilateral economic relations and North Korea.

- INDEPENDENT