KYOTO, Nov 16: President George Bush urged China on Wednesday to move further to allow political and religious freedom, and he held up Taiwan as a model for Asia of a free and democratic society.

In remarks sure to annoy Beijing, where he is due on Saturday, Mr Bush said China was an example of a society that had taken steps toward more openness but had ‘not yet completed the journey’.

“As China reforms its economy, its leaders are finding that once the door to freedom is opened even a crack, it cannot be closed,” Mr Bush said in a speech in Kyoto, Japan.

He painted a different picture of Taiwan, though he reiterated Washington’s support for the ‘one-China’ policy that maintains that Taiwan is not independent.

“Modern Taiwan is free and democratic and prosperous. By embracing freedom at all levels, Taiwan has delivered prosperity to its people and created a free and democratic Chinese society,” Mr Bush said. He also praised Japan and South Korea as democratic examples for Asia.

Mr Bush also pressed China to take further steps to liberalize its currency and open its domestic market to US exports and he called for a ‘level playing field’ for trade.

Japan was Mr Bush’s first stop on a week-long, four-nation tour during which North Korea’s nuclear programme, tensions over trade with China and the threat of an avian flu pandemic are high on the agenda. He arrived in South Korea on Wednesday and was slated to hold a summit with President Roh Moo-hyun on Thursday.

The trip, which comes as Mr Bush is beset by political woes at home, is centred on the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Pusan, South Korea. He will visit Mongolia on Monday.

TOUGH WORDS: Asked at a news conference if he was suggesting that China emulate Taiwan, Mr Bush said his message was ‘universal’ and he was ‘not necessarily trying to compare one system to another’.