Visiting US President George W. Bush said in Beijing Friday that he has been trying to bring about improvement in the areas of welfare and education in his country.
Bush made the remarks in response to a question on human rights in the United States raised by a student after his speech at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing.
The US president said that during his election campaign he paid attention to two key issues, namely welfare and education, which were also of the voters' concern.
Since he became president, Bush said, his country has made great efforts to help those in need.
As for education, the president said, a great number of children have not reached the fourth-grade level in reading, as they should have.
That would affect their employment opportunities in the future, Bush said, adding that would be a shame for the United States.
Bush believes that education may help lift people out of poverty and also be conducive to preventing crimes.
Bush said that he has submitted a reading initiative to Congress last year as part of his efforts to help the children.
This year, Bush said, he will work to boost the education of pre-school children.
(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2002)
