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Shanghai:
In his first visit to China, US President Barack Obama came face to face with the Chinese youth in Shanghai. On a week-long East Asia tour, Obama brought with him the message of friendship and freedoms.
"We do not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation. But we also don't believe that the principles that we stand for are unique to our nation. These freedoms of expression, and worship, of access to information and political participation, we believe are universal rights," said Obama.
Obama gave the hundreds of Chinese students, gathered at the town hall, an opportunity to grill him on any topic, something that made the authorities so nervous that they didn't broadcast the exchange live across China, except in Shanghai.
Obama stressed the need for the US and China to work together, and clarified that the US didn't seek to contain China's rise. But the highlight of his address came when he sought to break the so-called 'Great Firewall of China' and prod the communist country to stop censoring the Internet access of its own people.
"Free Internet or unrestricted Internet access is a source of strength and I think should be encouraged," said Obama.
"I think that the more freely information flows, the stronger the society becomes, because then citizens of countries around the world can hold their own governments accountable," he added.
The townhall meeting may have allowed Obama to showcase American values, but in a Communist-ruled China, there are limits to how far his message can go.
"We do not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation. But we also don't believe that the principles that we stand for are unique to our nation. These freedoms of expression, and worship, of access to information and political participation, we believe are universal rights," said Obama.
Obama gave the hundreds of Chinese students, gathered at the town hall, an opportunity to grill him on any topic, something that made the authorities so nervous that they didn't broadcast the exchange live across China, except in Shanghai.
Obama stressed the need for the US and China to work together, and clarified that the US didn't seek to contain China's rise. But the highlight of his address came when he sought to break the so-called 'Great Firewall of China' and prod the communist country to stop censoring the Internet access of its own people.
"Free Internet or unrestricted Internet access is a source of strength and I think should be encouraged," said Obama.
"I think that the more freely information flows, the stronger the society becomes, because then citizens of countries around the world can hold their own governments accountable," he added.
The townhall meeting may have allowed Obama to showcase American values, but in a Communist-ruled China, there are limits to how far his message can go.
