Bush Calls For Freedom in China

President Bush yesterday called on Chinese officials to demonstrate a commitment to "greater openness and tolerance" before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In a speech to business executives in Sydney on the eve of the Asia-Pacific summit, Bush emphasized the need for greater freedoms throughout Asia and warned China that the world will watching during the international games.

Bush also called on the ruling junta in Myanmar—formerly Burma—to "stop assaulting pro-democracy activists." Earlier this week hundreds of Buddhist monks there torched government officials' cars to protest the junta. For his part, Bush said he was ready to help jump-start the Doha round of trade talks, which he called a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity. (More Asia Pacific Summit stories.)