BEIJING, China - President Bush sought to dispel rampant doubts and distrust of America, urging China on Friday to embrace liberty, tolerance and religious freedom. ``A free society trusts its citizens,'' Bush said as skeptical university students pressed him about U.S. policy toward their country.
Fielding pointed questions during an event broadcast live to China's 1.2 billion people, the president reaffirmed the United States' obligation to protect the security of Taiwan, which China considers to be part of its territory. Calling for a peaceful resolution of the decades-old debate, Bush said, ``I hope it happens in my lifetime.''
More than 200 students - half listening to interpreters through headphones, the other half following in English - applauded politely as Bush ended his speech and began a question-and-answer session. Dozens of hands shot up into the air.
The first question was a double-barreled challenge to U.S. policy on Taiwan and Bush's missile defense plans, topics that divide the two nations. Bush repeated his views on both, calling for ``peaceful dialogue'' on Taiwan and telling China not to fear missile defense.
The audience applauded loudly when Bush reaffirmed America's one-China policy, which acknowledges that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait believe there is only one China.
Later, a testy questioner said ``it's a pity you still haven't given us a clear'' answer about China's right to keep Taiwan under its control. ``We're back on Taiwan again!'' Bush replied with a laugh. ``This seems to be a topic on people's minds, obviously. I can't say it any more clearly than I'm anxious that there be a peaceful resolution.''
But Bush added: ``We will help Taiwan protect herself if she is provoked.''
In Taiwan, the island's foreign minister, Eugene Chien, praised Bush's performance, saying the president made it clear that he supports a peaceful resolution of the Taiwan issue and wants to open a dialogue that would preserve stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Bush sought to avoid lecturing the Chinese in his remarks, but he argued passionately that America is a better place than China for the human spirit to flourish.
``Diversity is not disorder. Debate is not strife. And dissent is not revolution,'' Bush said.
Aides said Bush aimed his appeal at China's youth, in hopes they would prod their government to adopt Western ideals. With an eye toward China's political future, he met briefly with Vice President Hu Jintao, the leading candidate to succeed President Jiang Zemin next year. Hu introduced Bush at the university.
His speech came on the last day of a weeklong Asian trip, after he failed to persuade China's leadership to halt sales of missile technology and soften its stance on religious freedoms.
``A free society trusts its citizens to seek greatness in themselves and their country,'' Bush told several hundred Tsinghua University students from a red-carpeted stage in an intimate atrium of polished stone. The students applauded when Bush said America welcomes ``the emergence of a strong, peaceful and prosperous China.''
``My country certainly has its share of problems and we have our faults; like most nations we're on a long journey toward achieving our own ideals of equality and justice,'' Bush said. ``Yet there is a reason our nation shines as a beacon of hope, a reason many throughout the world dream of coming to America.''
He decried what he called Chinese misconceptions about the United States, blaming the disconnect on a distortion of American values in U.S. popular culture. Bush lay some blame on China too, noting that Chinese textbooks accuse Americans of bullying the weak and repressing the poor.
``Neither of these is true - and while the books may be leftovers from a previous era, they are misleading and harmful,'' Bush said.
He tried to change the perceptions in a free-flowing questioning session with students that belied the skepticism many Chinese have about America.
In one exchange, a feisty questioner pressed Bush about poverty and violence in America. The president acknowledged that conditions in the United States are not perfect but said, ``Our government is very generous in the amount of money it spends trying to help people help themselves.''
In response to questions about missile defense, Bush said the Chinese people should not fear such a system. ``I have made it clear that our nation will develop defenses to help our friends, our allies and others around the world protect ourselves from rogue nations,'' Bush said.
In a moment of levity, Bush kidded a Chinese translator. ``She's correcting my English,'' he said.
His address was a clarion call for liberty in one of Earth's few remaining communist nations, a hard-line regime struggling to keep its grip on power as its people come into greater contact with Western traditions.
``Life in America shows that liberty, paired with law, is not to be feared,'' Bush said.
Bush said Americans relish their liberty, abide by their laws, limit the powers of their leaders, love their families, serve their communities and respect others' right to religious worship.
``Someone once called us a nation with the soul of a church. Ninety-five percent of Americans say they believe in God, and I'm one of them,'' he said.
A day earlier at his joint news conference with Bush, Jiang said, ``I don't have religious faith'' and later claimed his government allowed its people to practice religion freely.
Aides said Bush was not convinced.
``My prayer is that all persecution will end, so that all in China are free to gather and worship as they wish,'' Bush said.
Bush said all of America's qualities were on display Sept. 11, when firefighters and police died to save others and volunteers poured into New York from around the nation to help. ``None of this was ordered by the government; it happened spontaneously, by the initiative of a free people,'' Bush said.