    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
    [November 16, 2005]
    [Pages 1722-1728]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Kyoto
    November 16, 2005

        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 1,000 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.

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        Freedom is the bedrock of our foundation 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

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    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 15 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 Asian-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 3 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

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    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 3 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
    powerplants 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 partner 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

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    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 communiques, 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 dialog 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 30 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 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

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    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 prodemocracy 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 often 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, quote, ``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

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    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.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:18 p.m. at the Kyoto Kaikan. In his
    remarks, he referred to Yoshihisa Akiyama, chairman, Kansai Economic
    Federation, who introduced the President; Prime Minister Junichiro
    Koizumi of Japan, and his father, Junya Koizumi; President Hamid Karzai
    of Afghanistan; President Hu Jintao of China; and Aung San Suu Kyi,
    leader of the National League for Democracy of Burma.