THE
PRESIDENT: Konichiwa. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for your kind
introduction, and thank you for this invitation. Laura and I are pleased
to be back in Japan, and we appreciate the warm welcome that we received
here in Kyoto. We were so honored to stay at the Kyoto State Guest
House. It's a fantastic facility. I know the folks of this community
have great pride in the guest house, and you should. Kyoto served as the
capital of Japan for more than a thousand years -- and it is still the
cultural heart of this great nation. It's a proud city where ancient
teahouses and temples keep this country's traditions alive -- and
scientists from its universities win Nobel Prizes. Kyoto is a symbol of
Japan's transformation into a nation that values its freedom and
respects its traditions.
I have experienced this transformation of your country in a
highly personal way. During World War II, my father and a Japanese
official named Junya Koizumi were on opposite sides of a terrible war.
Today, their sons serve as elected leaders of their respected nations.
Prime Minister Koizumi is one of my best friends in the international
community. We have met many times during my presidency. I know the Prime
Minister well. I trust his judgment. I admire his leadership. And
America is proud to have him as an ally in the cause of peace and
freedom.
The relationship between our countries is much bigger than the
friendship between a President and a prime minister. It is an equal
partnership based on common values, common interests, and a common
commitment to freedom. Freedom has made our two democracies close
allies. Freedom is the basis of our growing ties to other nations in the
region. And in the 21st century, freedom is the destiny of every man,
woman, and child from New Zealand to the Korean Peninsula.
Freedom is the bedrock of our friendship with Japan. At the beginning
of World War II, this side of the Pacific had only two democracies:
Australia and New Zealand. And at the end of World War II, some did not
believe that democracy would work in your country. Fortunately, American
leaders like President Harry Truman did not listen to the skeptics --
and the Japanese people proved the skeptics wrong by embracing elections
and democracy.
As you embraced democracy, you adapted it to your own needs and your
own circumstances. So Japanese democracy is different from American
democracy. You have a prime minister -- not a president. Your
constitution allows for a monarchy that is a source of national pride.
Japan is a good example of how a free society can reflect a country's
unique culture and history -- while guaranteeing the universal freedoms
that are the foundation of all genuine democracies.
By founding the new Japan on these universal principles of
freedom, you have changed the face of Asia. With every step toward
freedom, your economy flourished and became a model for others. With
every step toward freedom, you showed that democracy helps governments
become more accountable to their citizens. And with every step toward
freedom, you became a force for peace and stability in this region, a
valued member of the world community, and a trusted ally of the United
States.
A free Japan has transformed the lives of its citizens. The spread of
freedom in Asia started in Japan more than a half century ago -- and
today the Japanese people are among the freest in the world. You have a
proud democracy. You enjoy a standard of living that is one of the
highest in the world. By embracing political and economic liberty, you
have improved the lives of all your citizens -- and you have shown
others that freedom is the surest path to prosperity and stability.
A free Japan has helped transform the lives of others in the region.
The investment you have provided your neighbors helped jump-start many
of Asia's economies. The aid that you send helps build critical
infrastructure -- and delivers relief to victims of earthquakes, and
typhoons, and tsunamis. And the alliance that you have made with the
United States is the pillar of stability and security for a region --
and a source of confidence in Asia's future.
A free Japan is helping to transform the world. Japan and the United
States send more aid overseas than any other two countries in the world.
Today in Afghanistan, Japanese aid is building a highway that President
Karzai says is essential for the economic recovery of this newly
democratic nation. In Iraq, Japan has pledged nearly $5 billion for
reconstruction -- and you have sent your self defense forces to serve
the cause of freedom in Iraq's al-Muthanna province. At the start of
this young century, Japan is using its freedom to advance the cause of
peace and prosperity around the world -- and the world is a better place
because of Japanese leadership.
Japan has also shown that once people get a taste for freedom, they
want more -- because the desire for freedom is written in the hearts of
every man and woman on this earth. With each new generation that grows
up in freedom, the expectations of citizens rise -- and the demand for
accountability grows. Here in Japan, Prime Minister Koizumi has shown
leadership by pushing crucial reforms to open your economy and make
Japan's institutions more responsive to the needs of its people. The
Prime Minister knows that nations grow in wealth and stature when they
trust in the wisdom and talents of their people -- and that lesson is
now spreading across this great region.
Freedom is the bedrock of America's friendship with Japan -- and it
is the bedrock of our engagement with Asia. As a Pacific nation, America
is drawn by trade and values and history to be a part of the future of
this region. The extraordinary economic growth in the Pacific Rim has
opened new possibilities for progress; it has raised new challenges that
affect us all. These challenges include working for free and fair trade,
protecting our people from new threats like pandemic flu, and ensuring
that emerging economies have the supplies of energy they need to
continue to grow. We have also learned that as freedom spreads
throughout Asia and the world, it has deadly enemies -- terrorists who
despise freedom's progress and who want to stop it by killing innocent
men, women, and children -- and intimidating their governments. I have
come to Asia to discuss these common challenges -- at the bilateral
level during visits with leaders like Prime Minister Koizumi, and at the
regional level through the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.
These issues are all vital -- and by addressing them now, we will build
a freer and better future for all our citizens.
Our best opportunity to spread the freedom that comes from economic
prosperity is through free and fair trade. The Doha Round of
negotiations in the World Trade Organization gives us a chance to open
up markets for goods, and services, and farm products all across the
globe. Under Doha, every nation will gain -- and the developing world
stands to gain the most. The World Bank projects that the elimination of
trade barriers could lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
And the greatest obstacle to a successful Doha Round is the reluctance
in many parts of the developed world to dismantle the tariffs, and
barriers, and trade-distorting subsidies that isolate the world's poor
from the great opportunities of this century.
My administration has offered a bold proposal for Doha that would
substantially reduce agricultural tariffs and trade-distorting subsidies
in a first stage, and over a period of fifteen years, eliminate them
altogether. Pacific Rim leaders who are concerned about the harmful
effects of high tariffs and farm subsidies need to come together to move
the Doha Round forward on agriculture -- as well as on services and
manufactured goods. And this year's Summit in Korea gives APEC a chance
to take a leadership role before next month's WTO meeting in Hong Kong.
APEC is the premier forum in the Asia-Pacific region for addressing
economic growth, cooperation, trade, and investment. Its 21 member
economies account for nearly half of all world trade. By using its
influence to push for an ambitious result in the Doha Round, APEC can
help create a world trading system that is freer and fairer -- and helps
spread prosperity and opportunity throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
As we come together to advance prosperity, we must also come together
to ensure the health and safety of our citizens. As economies open up,
they create new opportunities -- but this openness also exposes us to
new risks. In an age of international travel and commerce, new diseases
can spread quickly. We saw the need for international cooperation and
transparency three years ago, when a previously unknown virus called
SARS appeared in rural China. When an infected doctor carried the virus
out of China, it spread to Vietnam and to Singapore and to Canada within
a month. Before long, the SARS virus had spread to nearly every
continent -- and killed hundreds of people. By one estimate, the SARS
outbreak cost the Asian-Pacific region about $40 billion. The lesson of
this experience is clear: We all have a common interest in working
together to stop outbreaks of deadly new viruses -- so we can save the
lives of people on both sides of the Pacific.
We now face a new and potentially more deadly threat from avian flu,
which has infected bird populations across Asia and elsewhere. I am glad
to see that governments around the region are already taking steps to
prevent avian flu from becoming a pandemic. The World Health
Organization is coordinating the global response to this threat -- and
the way forward is through greater openness, greater transparency, and
greater cooperation. At the forthcoming summit, I look forward to
discussing ways to help this region prepare for, and respond to, the
threat of a pandemic. Every nation in the world has an interest in
helping to detect and contain any outbreak before it can spread. At
home, my country is taking important steps so that we are prepared in
the event of an outbreak. And as the nations of Asia work to prevent a
pandemic and protect their people from the scourge of avian flu, America
will stand by their side.
As we address these challenges to public health, we must also
confront the challenge of energy security in a tight global market where
demand is growing. Asian nations understand that the best way to create
opportunity and alleviate poverty is through economic growth. As their
economies grow, they are using more energy. Over the last three years,
the United States has launched a series of initiatives that will help
these countries meet their energy needs -- while easing demand on global
markets, reducing pollution, and addressing the long-term challenge of
climate change. These initiatives range from cleaner use of coal, to
ethanol and biodiesel, to emission-free hydrogen vehicles, to solar and
wind power, to clean-burning methane from mines, landfills, and farms.
This summer, we took an important step toward these goals by forming
the Asian-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development. Together with
Australia, and China, and India, Japan, and South Korea, we will focus
on practical ways to make the best practices and latest energy
technologies available to all. And as nations across this region adapt
these practices and technologies, they will make their factories and
power plants cleaner and more efficient. I plan to use my visit to the
region to build on the progress we are making. By working together, we
will promote economic growth and reduce emissions -- and help build a
better and cleaner world.
As we work together to meet these common challenges, we must continue
to strengthen the ties of trust between our nations. And the best way to
strengthen the ties of trust between nations is by advancing freedom
within nations. Free nations are peaceful nations, free nations do not
threaten their neighbors, and free nations offer their citizens a
hopeful vision for the future. By advancing the cause of liberty
throughout this region, we will contribute to the prosperity of all --
and deliver the peace and stability that can only come with freedom.
And so the advance of freedom in Asia has been one of the greatest
stories in human history -- and in the young century now before us we
will add to that story. Millions in this region now live in thriving
democracies, others have just started down the road of liberty, and the
few nations whose leaders have refused to take even the first steps to
freedom are finding themselves out of step with their neighbors and
isolated from the world. Even in these lonely places, the desire for
freedom lives -- and one day freedom will reach their shores as well.
Some Asian nations have already built free and open societies. And
one of the most dramatic examples is the Republic of Korea -- our host
for the APEC Summit. Like many in this part of the world, the South
Koreans were for years led by governments that closed their door to
political reform but gradually opened up to the global economy. By
embracing freedom in the economic realm, South Korea transformed itself
into an industrial power at home -- and a trading power abroad.
As South Korea began opening itself up to world markets, it found
that economic freedom fed the just demands of its citizens for greater
political freedom. The economic wealth that South Korea created at home
helped nurture a thriving middle class that eventually demanded free
elections and a democratic government that would be accountable to the
people. We admire the struggle the South Korean people made to achieve
their democratic freedom -- and the modern nation they have built with
that freedom. South Korea is now one of the world's most successful
economies and one of Asia's most successful democracies. It is also
showing leadership in the world, by helping others who are claiming
their own freedom. At this hour Korean forces make up the third largest
contingent in the multi-national force in Iraq -- and by helping the
Iraqis build a free society in the heart of the Middle East, South Korea
is contributing to a more peaceful and hopeful world.
Taiwan is another society that has moved from repression to democracy
as it liberalized its economy. Like South Korea, the people of Taiwan
for years lived under a restrictive political state that gradually
opened up its economy. And like South Korea, the opening to world
markets transformed the island into one of the world's most important
trading partners. And like South Korea, economic liberalization in
Taiwan helped fuel its desire for individual political freedom --
because men and women who are allowed to control their own wealth will
eventually insist on controlling their own lives and their own future.
Like South Korea, 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. Our one China policy remains unchanged. It is based on three
communiqu s, the Taiwan Relations Act, and our belief that there should
be no unilateral attempts to change the status by either side -- the
status quo by either side. The United States will continue to stress the
need for dialogue between China and Taiwan that leads to a peaceful
resolution of their differences.
Other Asian societies have taken some steps toward freedom -- but
they have not yet completed the journey. When my father served as the
head of our nation's diplomatic mission in Beijing thirty years ago, an
isolated China was recovering from the turmoil unleashed by the cultural
revolution. In the late 1970s, China's leaders took a hard look at their
country, and they resolved to change. They opened the door to economic
development -- and today the Chinese people are better fed, better
housed, and enjoy better opportunities than they ever have had in their
history.
As China reforms its economy, its leaders are finding that once the
door to freedom is opened even a crack, it can not be closed. As the
people of China grow in prosperity, their demands for political freedom
will grow as well. President Hu has explained to me his vision of
"peaceful development," and he wants his people to be more prosperous. I
have pointed out that the people of China want more freedom to express
themselves, to worship without state control, to print Bibles and other
sacred texts without fear of punishment. The efforts of Chinese people
to -- China's people to improve their society should be welcomed as part
of China's development. By meeting the legitimate demands of its
citizens for freedom and openness, China's leaders can help their
country grow into a modern, prosperous, and confident nation.
Access to American markets has played an important role in China's
economic development -- and China needs to provide a level playing field
for American businesses seeking access to China's market. The United
States supported China's entry into the World Trade Organization because
a China that abides by the same global rules as everyone else will
contribute to a free and fair world trading system. When I met President
Hu in New York recently, he said that China would bring more balance in
our trade and protect intellectual property. I welcomed those
commitments, just as I welcomed China's announcement in July that it
would implement a flexible, market-based exchange system for its
currency. These statements are a good beginning -- but China needs to
take action to ensure these goals are fully implemented. The textile
agreement our two nations reached last week shows that with hard work
and determination, we can come together to resolve difficult trading
issues. The agreement adds certainty and predictability for businesses
in both America and China. I look forward to frank discussions with
President Hu at APEC and in Beijing about our need to find solutions to
our trade differences with China.
China can play a positive role in the world. We welcome the important
role China has assumed as host of the six-party talks aimed at bringing
peace to the Korean Peninsula. We look forward to resolving our trade
differences in a spirit of mutual respect and adherence to global rules
and standards. And we encourage China to continue down the road of
reform and openness -- because the freer China is at home, the greater
the welcome it will receive abroad.
Unlike China, some Asian nations still have not taken even the first
steps toward freedom. These regimes understand that economic liberty and
political liberty go hand in hand, and they refuse to open up at all.
The ruling parties in these countries have managed to hold onto power.
The price of their refusal to open up is isolation, backwardness, and
brutality. By closing the door to freedom, they create misery at home
and sow instability abroad. These nations represent Asia's past, not its
future.
We see that lack of freedom in Burma -- a nation that should be one
of the most prosperous and successful in Asia but is instead one of the
region's poorest. Fifteen years ago, the Burmese people cast their
ballots -- and they chose democracy. The government responded by jailing
the leader of the pro-democracy majority. The result is that a country
rich in human talent and natural resources is a place where millions
struggle simply to stay alive. The abuses by the Burmese military are
widespread, and include rape, and torture, and execution, and forced
relocation. Forced labor, trafficking in persons, and use of child
soldiers, and religious discrimination are all too common. The people of
Burma live in the darkness of tyranny -- but the light of freedom shines
in their hearts. They want their liberty -- and one day, they will have
it.
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.
Satellite maps of North Korea show prison camps the size of whole
cities, and a country that at night is clothed almost in complete
darkness.
In this new century, 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. That means a comprehensive diplomatic
effort from all countries involved -- backed by firm resolve. We will
not forget the people of North Korea. The 21st century will be freedom's
century for all Koreans -- and one day every citizen of that peninsula
will live in dignity and freedom and prosperity at home, and in peace
with their neighbors abroad.
In our lifetimes, we have already been given a glimpse of this bright
future. The advance of freedom and prosperity across the Asian continent
has set a hopeful example for all in the world. And though the
democracies that have taken root in Asia are new, the dreams they
express are ancient. Thousands of years before Thomas Jefferson or
Abraham Lincoln, a Chinese poet wrote that, "the people should be
cherished the people are the root of a country the root firm, the
country is tranquil." Today the people of Asia have made their desire
for freedom clear -- and that their countries will only be tranquil when
they are led by governments of, by, and for the people.
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. It is freedom that gives the citizens of this
continent confidence in the future of peace for their children and
grandchildren. 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.
On behalf of my country, thank you all very much. (Applause.)