U.S. President George Bush has met with five Chinese freedom activists at the White House, ahead of next week's trip to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.
Mr. Bush Tuesday assured the activists (Harry Wu, Wei Jingsheng, Rebiya Kadeer, Sasha Gong, and Bob Fu) that he will carry the message to Beijing that human rights and religious freedom should not be denied to anyone.
Mr. Bush also dropped in on a meeting Tuesday between his national security adviser and visiting Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi. The White House says he told Yang the Olympics are an opportunity for China to demonstrate compassion.
Chinese state media says Yang told Mr. Bush that China is willing to continue to exchange views on human rights, as long as it is done on the basis of equality and "non-interference in each other's domestic affairs."
Also Tuesday, Republican Senator Sam Brownback told reporters he has information from several international hotel chains that they have been ordered to install monitoring equipment on their hotel-room computers in Beijing.
He said Chinese authorities have threatened to fine hotels or revoke their business licenses if they do not comply. Brownback showed reporters copies of both the notification to hotels from Chinese authorities and the hotels' planned warnings to their guests that their electronic communications are being monitored.
He called on China to revoke the order, saying it is not in the Olympic spirit. He also said he will introduce a Senate resolution condemning the move.
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