Bush seeks religious freedom

US President George W Bush pressed his case for more religious freedom in China on Sunday in frank...

US President George W Bush pressed his case for more religious freedom in China on Sunday in frank conversations with the country’s Communist leaders and by attending a worship service at a Beijing church.

Bush spent the day blending diplomacy with Olympic fun — watching a gold medal win by US swimmer Michael Phelps and seeing Chinese President Hu Jintao for talks.

Our relationship is constructive and it’s important and also very candid, Bush said as he sat down with Hu after attending prayers at a Communist government-sanctioned church.

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The White House described the conversations as candid on the issue of human rights and religious freedom.

He told President Hu that this is an important aspect of the US-China dialogue and that the Chinese can expect that any future American president will also make it an important aspect of our dialogue, said Dennis Wilder, a White House National Security Council official, told reporters.

Bush’s trip to Beijing has been a balancing act, taking in the Olympic games and praising China on a variety of issues while publicly nudging China to improve its internationally criticized record on human rights. Wilder said that he believed he saw some movement by China based on what Hu told Bush during their meeting.

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