Published on November 18, 2005

Excerpts from a speech delivered by US President George W Bush on Wednesday in Kyoto, Japan.

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 Truman did not listen to the sceptics and the Japanese people proved the sceptics wrong by embracing elections and democracy.

As you embraced democracy, you adapted it to your own needs and 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.

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.

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.

Some Asian nations have already built free and open societies. One of the most dramatic examples is the Republic of Korea. 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. South Korea is now one of the world’s most successful economies and one of Asia’s most successful democracies.

Taiwan is another society that has moved from repression to democracy as it liberalised its economy. The people of Taiwan for years lived under a restrictive political state that gradually opened up the economy. This opening to world markets transformed the island into one of the world’s most important trading powers. Economic liberalisation 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 future.

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 the three communiques, the Taiwan Relations Act and our belief that there should be no unilateral attempts to change 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 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 have in their history.

As China reforms its economy, its leaders are finding that once the door to freedom is opened even a crack, it cannot 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. 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.

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 so 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. 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. 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, particularly on the Korean peninsula, where great powers have collided 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 destabilise the region. Satellite maps of North Korea show prison camps the size of whole cities, and a country that at night is clothed in almost complete darkness.

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 the 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 neighbours abroad.

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 lead 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 a 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.

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