When the White House tried to downplay democracy and human rights while emphasizing trade and economic issues before President Bush’s current trip to Asia, I almost lost faith with the president. The trip has already brought the president to Japan, and South Korea, and he will be headed to China and Mongolia this weekend.

Speaking to Asian journalists, Mr. Bush highlighted currency, intellectual property rights, trade deficits, and avian flu as the issues he would raise with his Chinese hosts. For a president who is deemed to achieve a great status in history for his ambition to spread democracy and freedom across the globe, the D-word was regrettably missing. I was worried.

The White House went further to paint a picture of cozy relationship between the leaders of the U.S. and China. Mr. Bush himself said “my personal relationship with President Hu is very good.” National Security Adviser Steve Hadley described their upcoming meeting as “discussions with two friends.” Hu? A friend of Mr. Bush’s? Mr. Hu didn’t even want to spend any time at the Crawford ranch in Texas when he was supposed to visit Mr. Bush last September. I was depressed.

If even this president won’t speak up in China, then no future U.S. president will ever do so. I was sinking into a black hole.

I was so happy to be proven wrong by Mr. Bush when he surprisingly delivered a forceful and principled speech about freedom and democracy in Kyoto on Wednesday. I was so relieved to find out the pre-trip sweet talks were just diplomatic necessity and the president didn’t stray away from his core principles, which have earned great respect in me.

Mr. Bush certainly didn’t let freedom-thirsty Asians down by proclaiming “freedom is an Asian value – because it is a universal value.” The president talked about two successful stories in Asia – Japan and Taiwan – which no doubt would particularly upset China.

If you know how low an opinion the Chinese have of Japan’s prime minister, then you could imagine their reaction when Mr. Bush called Junichiro Koizumi “one of my best friends in the international community.” The president emphasized, twice, that “freedom is the bedrock of America’s friendship with Japan.” And freedom is also the bedrock of the U.S. engagement with Asia, Mr. Bush added.

The praises Mr. Bush flowered on Japan can easily be seen as indirect criticisms of China. He said Japan “is a good example of how a free society can reflect a country’s unique culture and history – while guaranteeing the universal freedoms that are the foundation of all genuine democracies” and “has also shown that once people get a taste of freedom, they want more – because the desire for freedom is written in the hearts of every man and woman on this earth.”

What remained unsaid by Mr. Bush should be telling to China: Follow Japan’s example of becoming a free and democratic nation and you can earn America’s true friendship too.

But what would really infuriate and alarm Beijing is the remarkable things Mr. Bush had to say about Taiwan. He praised Taiwan’s journey from repression to democracy and from a restrictive political state to one of the world’s most important trading partners.

Mr. Bush probably uttered the highest compliment to Taiwan ever by any U.S. president in living memory: “Taiwan is free and democratic and prosperous. By embracing freedom at all levels, Taiwan has delivered prosperity to its people and crated a free and democratic Chinese society.”

While the president had to repeat the dated mantra of one China policy and the three communiques, the significance of viewing Taiwan no longer as a problem but a solution in the U.S.-China relation simply can’t be overemphasized. This is the most groundbreaking change in U.S. China policy since President Nixon opened the China door more than three decades ago.

China falls into the category of Asian countries that Mr. Bush said “have taken some steps toward freedom – but they have not yet completed the journey.” He said as the people of China grow in prosperity, their demands for political freedom will grow as well. “Once the door to freedom is opened even a crack, it cannot be closed,” Mr. Bush correctly said.

However, I beg to differ with the president’s formula to bring about changes. Mr. Bush believes that “our best opportunity to spread the freedom that comes from economic prosperity is through free and fair trade.” Free trade can certainly provide a better soil for change but free trade itself would not suffice. The years since China was granted permanent normal trade relations and allowed into the WTO have demonstrated that China has so far succeeded in letting the economy run wild and keeping a tight lid on politics at the same time. The free world, led by the U.S., must keep up the pressure on all fronts.

While the Kyoto speech is no “Tear Down the Wall” speech by President Reagan, I applaud Mr. Bush’s leadership in laying down the most fundamental principles of U.S. foreign policy, whether in the Middle East or in Asia. When the rest of Asia finally joins the community of freedom and democracy, hopefully in the not too distant future, we would remember what Mr. Bush said in his conclusion: “You have a partner in the American government – and a friend in the American people.”

Mr. Liu is a Washington-based columnist of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily.