    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [February 16, 2002]
    [Pages 235-236]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    February 16, 2002

        Good morning. Today I'm flying west across the Pacific to visit
    Japan, South Korea, and China. The people of Tokyo, Seoul, and Beijing
    touched all our hearts in the days after September 11, with moving
    displays of sympathy and support in the wake of the terrorist attacks.
    Today, all three nations are supporting our fight against terrorism.
        I look forward to discussing our progress in ridding the world of
    this great threat to civilization, and we'll discuss our work to build a
    better world beyond terror, a world of greater opportunity and more open
    trade, stronger security and more individual freedom.
        I will speak to the Japanese Parliament and thank Japan for five
    decades of friendship. Our great alliance has helped make possible the
    remarkable economic success of the Pacific region, which creates so much
    opportunity and so many jobs for Americans.
        Today, Japan is in the midst of economic uncertainty and transition.
    But I have great confidence in Japan's future and in the unlimited
    potential of its people. And I'm confident that Japan will make the bold
    reforms needed to restore growth and opportunity, which will benefit the
    people of both our nations.
        I will visit South Korea and travel to the Demilitarized Zone, one
    of the most dangerous places on Earth, where barbed wire marks a line
    dividing freedom and oppression. I will visit with American service men
    and women who defend this frontier and provide stability on the Korean
    Peninsula.
        The people of South Korea have built a vibrant democracy and Asia's
    third largest economy. The people of the South are now reaching out to
    the North in a spirit of friendship and reconciliation. I support these
    efforts. Yet I will remind the world that America will not allow North
    Korea and other dangerous regimes to threaten freedom with weapons of
    mass destruction.
        In China, I look forward to seeing again firsthand the remarkable
    changes that are taking place as China opens to the world. America
    welcomes China's recent entry into the World Trade Organization, which
    will encourage American trade with China and encourage economic freedom
    and the rule of law in China itself.
        I look forward to talking to the Chinese about their commitment to
    open up their markets to U.S. agricultural products. I'm also looking
    forward to meeting with Chinese students, because it gives me an
    opportunity to talk about the America I know, an America with strong
    values of family, community, faith, and freedom. And I will express my
    hopes that as China moves forward, it too will embrace the universal
    demands of human dignity, freedom of conscience and religion, and the
    rights and value of every life.
        The flight across the northern Pacific is a long one. But in our
    spirit of friendship and cooperation, the nations of the northern
    Pacific are drawing ever closer. All around this great ocean we see good
    friends, Canada and Australia, New Zealand and Thailand, the Philippines
    and Taiwan. And they will find in America a nation that is determined
    and patient and committed to the great cause of building a world that

    [[Page 236]]

    is more peaceful, more secure, and more prosperous.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 11:42 a.m. on February 15 in the
    Cabinet Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on February
    16. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press
    Secretary on February 15 but was embargoed for release until the
    broadcast. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish
    language transcript of this address.