President George W. Bush today used some of his bluntest language yet in publicly pressing China to improve its human rights record.
In a speech in Bangkok, Thailand, before arriving in Beijing today for the Olympics opening ceremony, he voiced "firm opposition" to China's detention of dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists.
"The United States believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings," he said in comments likely to anger China's communist leadership.
"We speak out for a free press, freedom of assembly, and labour rights not to antagonise China's leaders, but because trusting its people with greater freedom is the only way for China to develop its full potential," he said.
But a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman defended China's rights record, saying people enjoyed a range of freedoms, including freedom of religion.
However, in a statement on the ministry's website, he added: "We resolutely oppose any words or actions which interfere in the internal affairs of another country in the name of issues such as human rights and religion."
Beijing has been accused of cracking down on dissent ahead of the Games instead of granting more freedoms, as originally promised.
Mr Bush had faced criticism from rights groups not only for attending the Games but also for not speaking out more forcefully against Beijing's crackdown in the run-up to the Games.
He has chided China on human rights before, focusing especially on restrictions on religious freedom, and angered the Chinese government by meeting dissidents at the White House ahead of his week-long farewell trip to East Asia.
Mr Bush said in South Korea yesterday that he had no intention of using the Olympics as a platform for lecturing China on human rights, though he intends to discuss such matters privately with President Hu Jintao.
In a wide-ranging speech billed as an Asia policy statement, Mr Bush touched on everything from North Korea's nuclear programme, to regional security and trans-Pacific trade.
While acknowledging China's growing economic clout, he also said Beijing should wake up to the wider responsibilities that that entails.
"We are making clear to China that being a global economic leader carries with it the duty to act responsibly on matters from energy to the environment to development in places like Africa," he said.
On the ground in Beijing, he faces a delicate balancing act. He has insisted he is going as another sports fan. But his four-day stay will include worshipping at a church, followed by a statement on religious freedom, and then talks with Mr Hu.
Aides say he will do nothing to embarrass his hosts, who see the Olympics as an opportunity for China to showcase its modern face and economic progress on the world stage.
Another focus of Mr Bush's visit to Thailand was neighbouring Burma, which is under heavy US sanctions to try to bring an end to 46 years of unbroken military rule.
"The American people care deeply about the people of Burma and dream for the day the people will be free," Mr Bush told dissidents and former political prisoners at a lunch in Bangkok.
He also reiterated his call for the release of detained opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Reuters