Rumsfeld fordert mehr Demokratie in China

US-Verteidigungsminister Donald Rumsfeld sprach in Peking ermahnende Worte:

Speaking to the next generation of China's Communist Party leaders, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld today urged the country to become more politically open and challenged it to play a larger role in tackling the world's most significant problems. China's long-term economic growth, he warned, could depend on the nation's willingness to accept greater democracy and do more to help combat terrorism, nuclear proliferation, disease and other threats. He added that several of China's current policies, such as moving quickly to modernize its arsenal, have alarmed some of the most powerful nations. "As you know, it raises some questions about whether China will make the right choices — choices that will serve the world's interests in regional peace and stability," Rumsfeld said before fielding questions from a group of about 30 students and professors at Beijing's Central Party School. "China's future prosperity, and to some degree the future of other nations' attitudes [about China], may well depend on internal political events here." He added, "Every society … has to be vigilant against another type of Great Wall that can be a burden on man's talents and is born from a fear of them — a wall that limits speech, information or choices."Chinese officials allowed the media to hear only one audience question. A professor said he saw hopeful signs in the U.S.-China relationship, yet said the Bush administration also seemed to speak with "different voices."Rumsfeld replied that it was the Chinese who seemed to be sending conflicting messages, pointing out that greater engagement with the U.S. had been coupled with an attempt by China to exclude the United States from international organizations in the Pacific region. Rumsfeld's remarks echoed a theme articulated by several Bush administration officials recently: China has an obligation to play by the rules of the largely free-market, democratic international system that has facilitated its rapid economic growth.