Military

DATE=02/16/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE= BUSH / ASIA (L ALT)

NUMBER=2-286539

BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

INTERNET=YES

CONTENT=

/// EDS: THIS REPORT USES THE PRESIDENT'S SATURDAY RADIO ADDRESS. IT IS AN ALTERNATE TO THE BUSH / ASIA CR'S BY SCOTT STEARNS ///

INTRO: U-S President George Bush is on his way to Asia where he will visit Japan, South Korea and China. A key theme of the week-long trip will be fighting terrorism. Correspondent Laurie Kassman reports from Washington that President Bush will also be promoting economic reforms to restore slumping economies in Asia.

TEXT: President Bush used his Saturday radio address to once again hammer home the urgency of fighting terrorism around the world.

Even though Mr. Bush voiced support for South Korea's peace efforts with the North, he again warned of North Korea's threat to regional security.

/// BUSH ACT ///

The people of the South are now reaching out to he North in a spirit of friendship and reconciliation. I support these efforts. Yet, I will remind the world that America will not allow North Korea and other dangerous regimes to threaten freedom with weapons of mass destruction.

/// END ACT ///

President Bush will visit some of the 38-thousand U-S troops in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, which he calls one of the most dangerous places in the world.

In Tokyo, Mr. Bush will talk about ways to revitalize Japan's economy, which he says is in the midst of uncertainty and transition.

///BUSH ACT TWO ///

And, I am confident that Japan will make the bold reforms needed to restore growth and opportunity, which will benefit the people of both our nations.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Bush will focus on economic and trade issues in China but is also ready to discuss U-S concerns about human rights there.

/// BUSH ACT THREE ///

And I will express my hopes that as China moves forward, it too will embrace the universal demands of human dignity, freedom of conscience and religion, and the rights and value of every life.

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Bush last visited China when his father served as U-S envoy there in the mid-1970s.

///OPT THE REST ///

In its traditional response to the president's radio address, the Democrats preferred to dwell on economic matters of concern at home in the United States, namely campaign finance reform. Massachusetts Congressman Marty Meehan urged President Bush to sign legislation that would ban large, unregulated donations to political parties and overhaul the way political campaigns are financed. (Signed)

NEB/lmk/KBK