Beijing ? U.S. President George W. Bush urged China on Friday to embrace religious freedom and political dissent, offering the United States as a model and worrying that people in this vast land “do not always see a clear picture of my country.”

Standing before students at Tsinghua University, Bush was challenged on U.S. policy toward Taiwan, missile defense plans, and crime in America. The appearance was broadcast live on Chinese state television.

“Life in America shows that liberty, paired with law, is not to be feared,” Bush said. “In a free society, diversity is not disorder. Debate is not strife. And dissent is not revolution.”

After politely applauding his address, dozens of hands shot up and students asked Bush tough questions. One student complained that Bush wasn’t giving a clear answer on the island of Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory. “It’s a pity,” she said.

“This seems to be a topic on people’s minds, obviously,” Bush said. “I am anxious that there be a peaceful resolution. … I hope it happens in my lifetime. And I hope it happens in yours. It’ll be an important milestone.”

Bush also was questioned pointedly about his plans to develop a missile defense system for the United States. He avoided the issue of whether the shield would extend to Taiwan, but said he honors the Taiwan Relations Act, “which says we will help Taiwan defend herself if provoked.”

“We’ve also sent the same message that there should be no provocation by either party,” Bush said.

The address at Tsinghua, on the site of the former royal gardens of the Qing Dynasty, was the last major event on Bush’s six-day journey to China, South Korea and Japan. The president had a private lunch with Chinese President Jiang Zemin and made a quick visit to the Great Wall, which he visited as a tourist in 1975.

“The wall’s the same,” he remarked. “Different country.”

Following a 13-hour flight home, the president and first lady Laura Bush planned to spend the weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David.

Bush’s visit to China was the subject of a phone call Friday between Jiang and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Jiang told Putin about his discussions with Bush, and Putin expressed support for the warming of U.S.-China relations, saying they were important for “international stability and security,” the Kremlin press service said.

Earlier Friday, Bush completed the rounds of Chinese leadership by having breakfast with Premier Zhu Rongji and meeting briefly with Vice President Hu Jintao, the leading candidate to succeed President Jiang Zemin next year.

Hu introduced Bush to Tsinghua students, saying he wants to develop a relationship with the United States based on “mutual respect, treatment of each other as equals and a seeking of consensus.”

Depicted before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as having a go-it-alone foreign policy, Bush assured more than one questioner in Beijing that he is committed to working with other nations toward peaceful resolution of global troubles. One hot spot, North Korea, part of what Bush call’s the “axis of evil,” has rejected the president’s offer to start a dialogue with Washington.

A spokesman of the North’s Foreign Ministry, quoted on Friday by the country’s official Korean Central News Agency, said: “We are not willing to have contact with his (Bush’s) clan, which is trying to change by force of arms the system chosen by the Korean people.”

Bush made his appeal in highly personal tones, although he failed in talks here to persuade Jiang to halt sales of missile technology or soften China’s stance on religious freedoms.

Standing beneath a banner bearing the copper Chinese characters for “self-reliance and social commitment,” Bush spoke in measured tones, trying to avoid lecturing the Chinese. But his unmistakable message was that the human spirit thrives better in America than in China.

“As America learns more about China, I am concerned that the Chinese people do not always see a clear picture of my country,” Bush said.

“My friend, the ambassador to China, tells me some Chinese textbooks talk of Americans `bullying the weak and repressing the poor,'” he continued. “Another Chinese textbook, published just last year, teaches that special agents of the FBI are used to `repress the working people.’ Now, neither of these is true.”

While the United States has its share of problems and faults, the freedoms it offers shine “as a beacon of hope and opportunity, a reason many throughout the world dream of coming to America.”

Americans relish their liberty, abide by their laws, limit the powers of their leaders and respect others’ right to religious worship, Bush said. His declaration, met by silence from the students, rebutted Jiang’s statement, “I don’t have religious faith,” at a news conference one day earlier.

Jiang had been questioned by two American reporters about Beijing’s detention of Catholic bishops. In response, he insisted his government allows its people to worship freely and that the bishops were simply “lawbreakers.” Aides said Bush had not been convinced and on Friday, he told students he prays for the day when all Chinese can freely worship.

The hard-line Chinese government believes that religious activity destabilizes society. Today, religious leaders are regularly accused of such things as rape, fraud, assault and arson. Human rights activists accuse the government of filing false criminal charges to avoid being accused of suppressing religious freedom.

“Freedom of religion is not something to be feared, but to be welcomed,” Bush said.

While Bush urged China to embrace liberty and religious freedom, Chinese dissidents reported being harassed by police.

Jin Cheng, imprisoned for 18 months in the early 1990s for publishing a human rights magazine, said police blocked the door of his home. And veteran dissident Ren Wanding said police told him by telephone not to leave his home while Bush was in town. “China is still an authoritarian state,” Ren said.