BANGKOK, August 7 (agencies) : President Bush praised the spread of freedom in Asia while training a harsh spotlight Thursday on the region's democratic laggards, sharply criticizing oppression and human rights abuses in China, Myanmar and North Korea.
Bush's speech, outlining America's achievements and challenges in Asia as he wraps up eight years in office, came on the same day he was due to arrive in Beijing to attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and several days of competition. China has rounded up opponents and slapped restrictions on journalists, betraying promises made when it landed the hosting rights.
Chinese officials had bristled at Bush's criticism and his meeting with Chinese activists at the White House last week. A spokeswoman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing said there was no comment at this time to the speech, but the country's leaders were unlikely to be pleased at the criticism on the eve of their proud moment as Olympic hosts.
At the same time, Bush has come under pressure to use his Beijing visit to openly press China's leaders for greater religious tolerance and other freedoms.
The White House's handling of the speech demonstrated the president's delicate balancing act.
In what appeared to be an effort to ease embarrassment for Beijing as it prepared for its splashy appearance on the world stage, Bush's address containing the criticism of China was delivered outside the country, in Thailand. The White House took the unusual step of releasing the text of it even earlier, about 18 hours before he spoke.
And the speech was followed by a string of events Thursday, by both the president and his wife, Laura, that were clearly aimed at shifting the focus to the repressive military regime in Myanmar, neighbor to Thailand, where Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej regards himself as a friend of Myanmar's generals. Myanmar, also known as Burma, marks the 20th anniversary of a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy activists Friday.
The Bush administration has become increasingly vocal about Myanmar in recent months, blaming a corrupt regime for failing to help its citizens after a devastating cyclone in May, in large part by initially failing to accept international help and then only with tight restrictions, and for violently suppressing democracy demonstrations by Buddhist monks in last September's so-called Saffron Revolution.
Mrs. Bush, the administration's highest-profile spokeswoman on the issue, flew for the day to northwestern Thailand to visit a border refugee camp. The Mae La camp is home to 38,000 Karen, an ethnic minority that human rights organizations say is the target of an ongoing Myanmar military campaign marked by murders of civilians, rapes and razing of villages. She also stopped at a health clinic run by a woman known as the "Mother Teresa of Burma."
Remaining in Bangkok, the president was briefed at the US ambassador's residence on recovery from the cyclone that devastated Myanmar's heartland and killed more than 80,000 people, had lunch with nine Burmese activists and did an interview with local radio journalists in hopes of influencing events across the border.
Bush called the activists "courageous people," saying he wanted to hear their stories and their advice.
One of the activists, Lway Aye Nang of the Women's League of Burma, said rape has long been used "as a weapon of war" in Myanmar and thanked Washington for imposing sanctions against her country.
