Bush sees Chinese President Hu Jintao as a sponge: "He absorbs, he takes in, he listens"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Bush Says It's 'Important to Engage' China

A Mixed Appraisal on Eve of Visit

By Michael Abramowitz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 5, 2008; A01

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/04/AR2008080402460_pf.html



ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Aug. 4 -- Three days before he is set to arrive in Beijing for the Olympics, President Bush offered a mixed assessment of China's role in the world, praising its efforts to curb the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran, expressing disappointment about its recent move to help scuttle global trade talks, and saying that it is "really hard to tell" whether human rights in China have improved over the past eight years.

Bush said that he speaks candidly with Chinese President Hu Jintao about human rights, particularly religious freedom, and that he has shared his religious beliefs with Hu and Hu's predecessor, Jiang Zemin, urging them to lift restrictions on underground churches.

"My main objective in my discussions on religious freedom is to remind this new generation of leadership that religion is not to be feared but to be welcomed in society," Bush said in an interview. Asked whether he thinks he is making an impact on Hu, he replied: "Oh, I think he listens, absolutely. I think he's interested. . . . He absorbs, he takes in, he listens."

Bush said China must do more to pressure repressive governments in Burma and Sudan, where he suggested Beijing's interest in acquiring raw materials to fuel China's booming economy is conflicting with an interest in stopping the killing in Sudan's Darfur region. But he skirted a question about a pre-Olympics security drive by Chinese authorities that human rights advocates call a crackdown on dissent.

"They're hypersensitive to a potential terrorist attack," Bush said. "And my hope is, of course, that as they have their security in place, that they're mindful of the spirit of the Games, and that if there is a provocation, they handle it in a responsible way without violence."

The president has been criticized by some lawmakers and human rights groups for his decision to attend the Games. He explained his rationale: "One of the reasons I'm going is because I want to show respect to the Chinese people, and this is a proud moment for China."

Bush also grappled with how to gauge openness and freedom in China today. "I mean, this is a closed society in many ways," he said. "The Internet provides interesting opportunities for people to express themselves. Sometimes it's open, sometimes the filters are there. I've talked to the evangelicals who go there who feel like the underground church movement has gotten a few steps forward, a step-and-a-half back. It's really hard to tell."

[supernova]

1. A sponge, huh? Unlike president doofus.

:eyes:

[DemoTex]

5. Actually, Bu$h is like a sponge too ..

With respect to beverage alcohol.

[moggie]

2. Here's the really sad part

The US has forfeited so much credibility in the area of human rights. When someone in this administration is critical of the human rights record of China or anywhere else, most of the world will shrug and say "who are you to lecture anyone about detention without trial, torture, or political prisoners?"

[Ezlivin]

3. Bush talking about freedom is like the KKK talking about racial tolerance

N/T

[alfredo]

4. Bush does the same with our private phone calls and e-mails. He absorbs

he takes in, he listens.

[asjr]

6. Sponge Hu Square Pants?

[KharmaTrain]

7. Curious George's Previous Asian Adventures...

Yep...here's the Deciderer



Looking into someone's "soul" again. Takes one to know one...

:rofl:

[guitar man]

8. so I guess that makes Bu$h a rock

....or a box of them.


:rofl:

[tanyev]

9. Oh, goody. The Deciderator is trotting out his people reading skills again.

He could go on tour as a carnival side-show. GeeDubya the Tragicificent. Whatever he says, it's bound to be wrong.