[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.

[[Page 1723]]

    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

[[Page 1724]]

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

[[Page 1725]]

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

[[Page 1726]]

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

[[Page 1727]]

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.