Visiting US President George W. Bush delivered a speech at the
prestigious
Tsinghua
University Friday morning during his two-day working visit to
China. After that, he answered questions from the Tsinghua
students.
QUESTION: Mr. President, yesterday I watched press conference made
by you and President Jiang Zemin, but at the conference you didn't
clearly answer a question which is concerned by almost everybody,
which is whether the TMD system will cover Taiwan. And what's more,
whenever you talk about the Taiwan issue you always use the phrase
just like "peaceful settlement." You never use the phrase "peaceful
reunification." What's the difference and why?
BUSH: Thank you. Very good question. First of all, I want to
compliment you on your English. Very good.
The first thing that is important on the Taiwan issue is that my
government hopes there is a peaceful, as I said, dialogue; that
there is a settlement to this issue. But it must be done in a
peaceful way. That's why I keep emphasizing peaceful. And by the
way, peaceful is a word intended for both parties, that neither
party should provoke.
We've had many discussions with your leaders, and I've reiterated
support for the one-China policy. It's been my government's policy
for a long period of time, and I haven't changed it.
I
also, in your question about missile defenses, have made it clear
that our nation will develop defenses to help our friends, our
allies and others around the world protect ourselves from rogue
nations that are trying to develop weapons of mass destruction. To
me, that is essential for peace in the world.
We
have yet to develop a system. And therefore that's exactly what I
said yesterday, and it's the truth. But we're in the process of
seeing if we can't develop a system, and I think it'll bring more
stability to the world than less.
And let me just say one general comment that's very important for
you to know, and it's also important for the people of my country
to know: that my administration is committed to peacefully
resolving issues around the world. We want the issues resolved in a
peaceful manner.
And we've got a lot of issues that we deal with. We're dealing in
the Middle East. And if you follow the news, it's a very dangerous
period of time there. We're working hard to bring a peaceful
resolution there.
We're working hard to bring a peaceful resolution to Kashmir, which
is important for China.
And I recently went to Korea, and I made it very clear that we want
to resolve the issues on the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful
way.
QUESTION: It's a pity you still haven't given us a clear answer
about why you always used "peaceful settlement." But you have never
said "peaceful reunification." It's a pity. This is a question our
Chinese people are extremely concerned about. Three days ago,
during your speech in the Japanese parliament, you said the United
States will still remember its commitment to Taiwan. My question
is, does the US still remember its commitment to 1.3 billion
Chinese people abiding by the three joint communiques and the three
nos? Thank you.
BUSH: We're back on Taiwan again. Right. Yes. Thank you very much.
As I said, this seems to be a topic on people's mind, obviously. I
can't say it any more clearly that I am anxious that there be a
peaceful resolution. And that's going to require both parties to
come to a solution.
And that's what I mean by peaceful dialogue. And it is I hope it
happens in my lifetime. And I hope it happens in yours. It'll be an
important milestone.
And secondly, when my country makes an agreement, we stick with it.
And there is an act called the Taiwan Relations Act, and I honor
that act, which says we will help Taiwan defend herself if
provoked. But we've also sent the same message that there should be
no provocation by either party -- for a peaceful dialogue.
QUESTION: Mr. President, I am a student coming from the School of
Economics and Management in Tsinghua University. As we can see,
China and the United States have a bright future in scientific and
cultural exchanges. Just now, you have made warm remarks about our
universities, so my question is, if possible, will you be happy to
encourage your daughters to study in our university? Thank you.
BUSH: I'm afraid they don't listen to me any more, if you know what
I mean.
First of all, I hope they do come here. It is an amazing country.
You know, as I said, I was here in 1975. It is hard for me to
describe the difference; it is an amazing transformation. I first
saw that in Shanghai earlier this fall -- or last fall. And they
would benefit from coming here, as would a lot of other United
States students.
I
think our student exchange program is very important. I think our
nation must be welcoming to Chinese students who would like to go
study in America. I think that would benefit the students, but as
importantly it would benefit American students.
It's so important for people to realize in both our countries that
we're dealing with human beings that have got desires and loves and
frustrations. Even older citizens like me and the vice president
can benefit by spending time getting to know each other.
Obviously, there are some issues in our relationship that we don't
have 100 percent agreement on. But it is so much better to discuss
these issues after you get to know a person as a person.
We're human beings first and foremost. There are just some
important characteristics that are real. You know, I talked about
my families in my speech. Family is just such an important,
integral part of any society. And China has got a grand history of
honoring family. That is an important tradition, an important part
of your culture. And you know, I hope my country as well has a
strong tradition of family.
That's a concept that's not owned by a particular country. It is
universal. And when students get to know each other they learn the
universality of many values. And that's going to be important for
peace in the world.
QUESTION: Well, Mr. President, I'm a student from Center for
International Communication Studies. Well, your younger brother
Neil Bush visited our university just before last Christmas, and he
mentioned that there are many Americans, especially politicians,
have a lot of misunderstandings about China. So just as our Vice
President, Hu Jintao, and you mentioned, you all want to make
efforts to promote the Sino-American relationship to go ahead
smoothly. So my question is, being the president of the United
States, will it take some action to promote the compacts and
exchanges between the two countries, between the peoples at all
different levels? Thank you.
BUSH: Well, thank you. That's a very good question. Well, first of
all, my trip here and my discussion here help promote ...
People in my country are paying attention to my visit here. And it
should interest you that I was here in the fall and I'm back here
again in the winter: twice in a very brief period of time. That
should say something about the importance of our relationships.
It's important for our political leaders to come to China. And I
know many have and more ought to come. It's important for the
rhetoric and we describe what we have seen to be accurate and real.
And when I go back home I describe a great nation, a nation that's
not only got a great history, but an unbelievably exciting
future.
Many people in my country are very interested in China. And many
come, as you know. They come to not only see the beautiful
countryside, but they come to learn more about the culture and the
people. And we've got to continue to encourage travel between both
of our countries.
But you know what's going to really make a significant difference
in the world understanding of your great country is the Olympics.
It's going to be a fantastic opportunity. It is. It's going to be a
chance for people from all over the world, not only to come and
visit and to stay in hotels and to see the modernization that's
taken place, but everybody in the world is going to watch it on TV,
too. And it's going to be a great opportunity.
That's one of the reasons why I think it made sense to give Beijing
the Olympics in 2008.
QUESTION: Mr. President, you have been to China in 1975 and you
have mentioned just now there are a lot of changes in the Chinese
society. And besides the progress in economy, have you noticed any
other social progress in the Chinese society? Thank you.
BUSH: Well, I appreciate that. Let me tell you the thing I've
noticed the most and it has to do with the economy, but it also has
to do with a different attitude toward the people.
In
1975, everybody wore the same clothes. Now people pick their own
clothes. Just look here on the front row: Everybody's dressed
differently because you thought this is what you wanted. You made
the decision to wear a beautiful red sweater. And when you made
that decision, somebody made it. In other words, the person, the
individual, the demand for a product influences the production as
opposed to the other way around.
Recognizing the desires of the individual in the marketplace is
part of a free society. It is a part of the definition of freedom.
And I see that as the most significant change that I can see
besides the new buildings and all of the construction. But the most
important thing is the human dimension of freeing people to decide
for themselves.
And with that freedom comes other freedoms. So you can understand
why the transformation from my memory of 1975 to today is
significant. I mean it is an amazing change. For the better, I
might add.
I'll answer one more question, then I got to go have lunch with
your president.
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President, for giving me the last chance
to ask you a question. And I read your autobiography and in it you
wrote about some social problem in the US today, just like the
violence on campus, the juvenile delinquency and the children in
poverty. As far as we know, a former schoolmate of our university,
Tsinghua, he studied in USA and was killed last year. And I feel so
sad. And I know this kind of crime has become more and more serious
in today's US. As the president, do you have any good plan to
improve the human rights today in the US? Thank you.
BUSH: Sure. Well, first of all, I'm proud to report that violent
crime is actually going down. But any crime is too much crime. I
mean, any time somebody is violent toward their neighbor, it's too
much violence.
And there's no question we've got people living in poverty. But as
I mentioned, our government is very generous in the amounts of
money we spend trying to help people help themselves.
When we all campaign for office, one of the big debates is how best
to help people help themselves.
Foreign policy is an important part of our campaigns, of course, at
least for president. But the American voter really is more focused
on domestic politics, what's happening at home, as you can imagine.
If the economy is soft, like ours is now, they want to know what's
going to happen "What are you doing about the economy?"
If
the economy's good, then they don't talk much about the
economy.
But always we talk about two key issues, to address your problem.
One is welfare. How do we structure a welfare system that helps
people in need and in my judgment should not make them dependent
upon their government?
And the other big issue is education. It's always not only an
important part of campaigns, but it's important part -- once you're
in office.
When I was the governor of Texas, I used to say an educated child
is one less likely to commit a crime. As governor, and now as
president, I've spent a lot of time working with members of both
political parties to develop an education plan that starts making
sure children learn before they just get shuffled through the
system.
One of the saddest facts about my country is that there are a
significant number of fourth-grade students who cannot read at
grade level.
Imagine a child who can't read in the fourth grade is a child
that's not going to be able to read in the eighth grade. And if the
child can't read in the eighth grade, it's likely that the child's
not going to be able to read sufficiently when they get out of high
school, and therefore won't be able to go to college.
It's a shame in America that that's the case. So as part of an
education bill I managed to get through Congress last year, we got
a significant reading initiative where we'll work with the states
and the local jurisdictions to focus on an education program that
emphasizes reading.
This year I hope to work, with my wife and others, on an early
childhood development program, so the youngsters get the building
blocks to learn how to read.
I'm actually working my way to your question, I promise you,
because education is the best anti-crime program. It's important to
enforce law. It's important to hold people accountable for their
actions.
It
is important to have consistent policy that says, "If you harm
somebody, there will be a punishment for that harm." But in the
best interests for my country, the long-term solution is to make
sure the education system works for everybody. And when that
happens, there'll be a more hopeful future for people, and there'll
be less poverty, less hopelessness and less crime.
Thank you for letting me come. God bless you all.
(China
Daily February 22, 2002)