MS. PERINO: Good to see you. Earlier today, President Bush met with his Cabinet and spoke in the Rose Garden about the importance of addressing our nation's energy needs. And as you heard the President say, Democratic leaders in Congress need to stop standing between the American people and the vast energy resources we have here at home. And we believe they should allow a vote to expand exploration.

Tomorrow, President Bush will travel to West Virginia. He will discuss not only the high impact gasoline prices are having on Americans, but also the broader energy landscape. He will talk about our efforts to harness the power of new technology to strip out pollutants like sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury, and to capture carbon emissions from coal in order to allow coal to continue to provide over 50 percent of the electricity like it provides today. We're also attempting to try to reduce its impact on the environment and we're having some good success in our country in that regard.

Additionally, the President will discuss administration efforts to eliminate the barriers to expanding our use not only of coal, but of nuclear power, as well, which is a clean energy source which could power our economy for years to come.

The President recognizes, as do Republicans in Congress, that we need to increase the supply of all forms of energy -- wind, solar, alternative energy, renewable energy, and at the same time we should expand our safe and environmentally friendly domestic drilling here at home, in the Outer Continental Shelf and in Alaska, and also to start developing oil shale to a greater extent.

And so that's what you'll hear from the President tomorrow. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: When a President of the United States, no matter who it is, signs a bill, that's putting your name on it. And we said last week that there was a provision of the bill that we think bailed out lenders rather than helping homeowners, and we didn't agree with it, but we recognized that the timing was such that we needed the bill sooner than later. And having a prolonged veto fight that we were convinced we would win, and we proved that we would win, was not in the best interest of the housing market and of the credit market. And so that's why the President signed the bill today. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Sometimes there is. Sometimes we have ceremonies, and sometimes we don't. He's already having one today that's open press, and a big to-do in the East Room, celebrating America's generosity of helping people all over the world who have HIV/AIDS. This is a tremendous effort, bipartisan effort, that reauthorizes a program that has taken our international AIDS treatment from 50,000 people when he first took office to over $1.8 million people today. And this reauthorizes the bill for five years. And I would daresay that that deserves a larger signing ceremony than anything else that was passed this week in Congress. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well as I have read the coverage of it -- I haven't read the report, but as I read the coverage of it, there's obviously information in there that would cause concern to anybody. And we agree with Michael Mukasey that -- the Attorney General -- that there was concern. There should be concern any time anyone is improperly using politics to influence career decisions. We believe that is improper. We could absolutely not defend that. And we are pleased that the Attorney General has taken steps to change it there at the Justice Department. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I think that if you look at the report, and it is in line with what the Attorney General said at the time, which was that he was not aware of that going on. And so I don't think there's anything -- disappointment doesn't necessarily go to the Attorney General. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No, I don't. The whole situation -- the whole situation in terms of the politicization -- or accusations of politicization -- if you look at career hires that should not have had any sort of questions put towards them as to what sort of party they represent, or what affiliation they might belong to, or who they might vote for -- those are inappropriate for career positions. And the President is glad that the -- Attorney General Mukasey made sure that that is no longer ongoing at the Justice Department. And it's nothing that we could defend, and we never have. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, I think that we are -- overall disappointment in the situation, sure. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Dana, this is according to Roll Call, they say a senior GOP aide says that Senate Republicans are

MS. PERINO: Well, I don't know which amendments they are, so I -- oftentimes they have these discussions to vote on whether or not there can be a vote. So if they move forward and they get this, I guess that would be a step in the right direction, but that's only one step. And remember, on -- especially when it comes to the Outer Continental Shelf, here at the executive branch, President Bush lifted his moratorium on Outer Continental Shelf drilling. Congress has to do the same. I don't know if that's part of the amendments or not, so -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Okay, so then I think that -- but remember, in Congress there's also a two-step process. The House would have to move, as well, and without that type of action, I don't think we'll be satisfied, and I don't think the American people will be satisfied either, and for good reason.

Go ahead, Jeremy. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: On Monday, August 4th, the President and Mrs. Bush will leave Washington to travel to Seoul, South Korea, to begin a seven-day trip to Asia that will also take them to Bangkok, Thailand, and Beijing, China.

To those of you who haven't been counting, this will be the President's ninth visit to Asia during his presidency, and reflects the importance of this most dynamic economic region of the world to the United States.

Crossing the International Dateline, the President and Mrs. Bush will arrive in Seoul the evening of Tuesday, August 4th [correction: August 5th], and they will hold a day of official events on August 5th [correction: August 6th] in Seoul.

The trip to Korea is at the invitation, of course, of President Lee Myung-bak, who is eager to return the hospitality that he and his wife enjoyed at Camp David in March. This year marks the 55th anniversary of U.S.-South Korean ties. The President looks forward to meeting with the South Korean President and his team on August 5th [correction: August 6th] to review the state of relations.

They will discuss the impressive progress that has been made and the transformation of the American military presence in Korea, and also discuss ways that they can begin to implement a global strategic partnership for the 21st century, so that Korea joins us, as they have begun to do, in helping to secure the peace in other regions of the world such as in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I'm sure they'll also discuss their efforts to get their respective legislatures to pass the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement that is projected -- when implemented -- to add $10 billion to $12 billion to the U.S. GDP annually.

President Bush will also have the opportunity to thank President Lee for his strong support for reopening the beef market. I would note that earlier this week, the first American bone-in beef reached Korea, this for the first time in five years.

Following the morning meeting and the joint press availability, President Lee and his wife will host a social lunch for the President and Mrs. Bush in Blue House. The President and Mrs. Bush will then travel to the United States Army Garrison at Yongsan for a combined troop event with American and Korean soldiers.

They will depart Korea in the afternoon [of August 6th], and travel to Bangkok, Thailand. This will be the President's second visit the Thailand, and it will be a very special occasion as we will be celebrating the 175th anniversary of U.S.-Thai relations. In other words, we established relations with Thailand, the first relationship we had in East Asia, under the presidency of Andrew Jackson in 1833.

President Bush will meet with Prime Minister Samak the evening of his arrival. They'll hold a joint press availability [correction: make joint statements] after their meetings and they will have a working dinner together.

As you may know, Thailand is a major non-NATO ally of the United States and one of our best relationships in East Asia. The President will congratulate the Thai people on the return to democracy in Thailand. He looks forward to his first meetings with Prime Minister Samak, and he will also be talking to Prime Minister Samak about the fact that Thailand will take over the chairmanship of ASEAN -- actually, it just took over the chairmanship of ASEAN and will be the chair of ASEAN for the next year and a half. So there are many issues that they can discuss together.

On Wednesday, August 6th [correction: Thursday, August 7th], the President will make a major set of remarks in Thailand. It will be his look at U.S. policy in East Asia, both what he believes he has accomplished in the last eight years, and also what he believes the future of America's presence in East Asia will be all about.

After that, he will visit a center in Thailand called the Mercy Center, which deals with children with HIV/AIDS. And then he will go on to have a briefing by non-governmental organizations and some American government organizations on the relief effort that occurred in Cyclone Nargis. He will have a lunch in Bangkok with Burmese activists, and hear their stories. And then he will be interviewed by the press in Thailand that broadcast into Burma, so that he can give a message directly to the Burmese people.

During the time that he is doing these events, Mrs. Bush will travel to Mae Sot, Thailand. There she will meet with refugees of the Mae La Refugee Camp. It is one of the largest refugee camps on the Thai-Burmese border. Following her visit to Mae La, she will travel to the Mae Tao Clinic. This clinic was founded, and is directed by Dr. Cynthia Maung. You may remember that Mrs. Bush had a television event with Dr. Cynthia Maung not long ago, and she is very much looking forward to getting on the ground and seeing the clinic in operation. This clinic provides free health care for refugees, migrant workers and other individuals who cross the border from Burma into Thailand.

If you have more questions on Mrs. Bush's schedule, either in Thailand or elsewhere, you can contact Sally McDonough of her office.

At the end of the day on Wednesday [correction: Thursday, August 7th], the Bushes will fly to Beijing. And I will not try at this point to talk too much about the schedule in Beijing because, frankly, the President's goal in Beijing is to attend Olympic sporting events, so that schedule is still in the works. He and his family will decide what events they'll be going to. And at this point, I actually don't have a complete list of the sporting events. I know some of them that he's interested in, but he'll be making his own decisions on exactly where he'll be going.

Let me just note that we will be in Beijing from August 7th through August 11th. Some of the highlights of the visit to Beijing will be the opening of our new embassy complex. You may know that last night the Chinese had an opening of their new embassy complex here. And we will open our new embassy complex in Beijing on August 8th. The President will be joined by his father, President Bush, 41, for that occasion, and it should be a very grand event. This is one of the largest embassies in the world, one of the largest embassy projects we have ever undertaken.

He will obviously also attend the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic Games while he's in Beijing. And he will have meeting with President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao, and Vice President of China, Xi Jinping. He will also be attending a church service on the Sunday he's in Beijing, and I think one other event -- he will meet with many of the sponsors of the U.S. Olympic team to thank them for their support for the U.S. Olympic team.

At this point, I'll take questions. Yes, sir. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q The International Olympic Committee today admitted it had agreed to a deal in which some Internet

MS. PERINO: Well, I would encourage -- I haven't seen what the IOC said in context. I want to make sure that that report is accurate, so I'd refer you to the IOC for specific comments from them on what they did or did not agree to, or what they said about this situation.

But let me take a step back and tell you, President Bush has long said that China has nothing to fear from greater access to the Internet, or to the press, or for more religious freedom and human freedom and human rights. And that's one of the things that he talked about yesterday with the dissidents he met with here at the White House. We want to see more access for reporters. We want to see more access for everybody in China to be able to have access to the Internet. It has grown over time, but we think that it would be -- that China would be enhanced and continue to prosper if it allowed for more freedoms. So that's what the President will be talking about on his trip there. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Thanks, Dennis. The President has said that he does not see the Olympics as a political event,

MR. WILDER: I think the President feels very strongly that what he is doing in Beijing is, first and foremost, supporting the American Olympic team. American athletes have worked long and hard to get to these Games. He's a President who loves sports. He's a President who believes in competition and the Olympic spirit. And so, number one on his agenda is really to go to Beijing to support those athletes.

Secondly, I think he would answer this by saying that he always has human rights at the top of his agenda wherever he goes in the world. The President's freedom agenda is well known. The President's work on freedom for Chinese citizens is well known. Yesterday he met with five prominent dissidents. Some of those dissidents would not be in this country were it not for the efforts of this President. And so he has worked long and hard for the rights of the Chinese people.

So I think he would say to you that he understands that some people have a different view on this, but he believes that by going to Beijing, he respects our athletes, he respects the Chinese people who are proud of hosting these Games, and he also has yet another opportunity with the Chinese leadership to sit down and talk to them about these issues.

He doesn't shy away from these issues. I have been in almost every meeting he has had with the Chinese leadership in the last four years. He has always raised these issues. Whether it be the case of the Dalai Lama or the case of the house churches, the President is very conscious of the need for China to continue to move forward, to open up more to religious expression, to freedom of the press and other issues. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Why did the President decide to meet with these dissidents yesterday? And it seems as though the

MS. PERINO: Well, there are. But I think that there are a lot of people who see it differently from the President -- and that's okay. The President says he's going there to support our athletes and all the athletes who have made it this far in their sporting careers. So he will go to cheer them on. At the same time, the President has continued to press China and given them a chance to say -- telling them that the Olympics represents the best possible chance for you to share a compassionate heart and to show what the Chinese spirit can really be all about.

And there are clearly people who have suffered human rights abuses around the world that the President has met with repeatedly since 2001, and as he says, when he has his Freedom Institute, he'll continue to do that for the rest of his life.

But when you ask me about the lead-up to the Olympics, clearly there are people who have decided that now is the appropriate time for them to raise their voices. And the President was more than happy to meet with them yesterday. He gave them a lot of time to tell them their stories, and then he reassured them that his strong commitment to human rights and religious freedom will continue throughout his presidency and beyond. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: I think it has made a difference. I would not say that progress is by leaps and bounds. The Chinese system structurally does not move very quickly in these areas. But I think we have seen, if you talk to Christians, certainly, about the growth of the church in China -- some people think there are a hundred million Christians now in China. That has happened in a relatively short period of time. And that means that while these churches may not be registered and the house churches may not receive the kind of treatment by the Chinese government we would like to see them receive, it does mean that people are able to express their religious faith in China. It's just that, unfortunately, these churches are now unregistered, as opposed to registered, and we would like to see the government -- very much like to see the government register these churches so that they aren't living, as it were, on the fringe of Chinese law.

So I think, certainly in the area of religion, if you look back over the 30 years of the relationship or even the last eight years of the relationship, the room for religious expression has grown in China. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I cannot. I am not able to comment on that story. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q In South Korea, the leadership there is very concerned and upset about the U.S. Agency for Geographic

MR. WILDER: We were contacted by the South Korean government at very high levels and asked to re-look at this question. The President directed Secretary Rice to check into this and see exactly what did happen with this change of designation. It was decided after that review that the change in designation was not warranted at this time. And so that database is now being restored to where it was prior to this change in designation, I think which occurred about seven days ago on the database.

We regret that this change in designation was perceived by South Koreans as some sort of change in our policy. Let me be very clear that our policy on this territorial dispute has been firm and consistent since 1952, and that is, we do not take a position on this territorial dispute; that we believe that South Korea and Japan need to work diplomatically to resolve this issue. But it is their issue to resolve. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Well, how about this element -- if true, your comment about Pakistan not doing enough -- all countries

MS. PERINO: I'm not prepared to say that from here. You can check around to other agencies and see if they would be. I think that when it comes to Prime Minister Gillani and President Bush, they are of one mind that the -- that al Qaeda and the terrorists pose a threat not just to the United States, but to Pakistanis, as well. And they saw that firsthand when Prime Minister Bhutto was assassinated.

We are going to continue to work with them. We are trying to work with their military. We've had good relationships with Pakistan over the years. But this is a tense time for everybody, as we work to do more to combat terrorism.

Jennifer. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: You know, I very much doubt that it will overshadow. First of all, I think on the beef issue, South Koreans are becoming more and more comfortable as American beef reenters the market. We understand the beef that has gone on the market is popular. And I think as more and more beef enters the South Korean market, you'll find that people -- that this issue will recede more and more.

In terms of the island issue, I think that it certainly didn't enhance the atmosphere for the visit, but on the other hand, the President has demonstrated leadership. And we have a very, very good relationship with the South Korean people. One of the things I think people forget in the midst of some of this is how firmly and strongly the South Korean people believe in the American relationship.

A million South Koreans a year come to the United States. There are many Korean Americans here. The links between our societies are strong. The relationship between President Lee and President Bush is a very warm one, even though they haven't known each other for very long. The South Korean support for the American troop presence in Korea is extremely strong. So I think that there is a very solid foundation to U.S.-South Korean relations. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: No, I don't believe they have spoken. I can check on that for you and see if he will. But I don't know of any plans to. The President has worked with Senator Stevens for many years. Obviously he is innocent under our system of justice until proven otherwise. And so we'll let the Justice Department handle the legal matter and not comment on it further.

Peter. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: The President eats a lot of American beef. And so we have suggested to the Blue House that it might be nice to have some on the menu. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, it's a fairly complex agreement when it comes to the broad issues of the economy -- let's see, the economy, security matters, diplomacy issues, political matters. While we've been working on this agreement with them, it's a negotiation; things go back and forth.

And while we've been working on it, the Iraqis have increasingly gained confidence in their political system, because they've been able to work together and get some of these laws passed. I just today, just now, saw that the Iraqis have called a special session of their parliament because they're going to try to address this Kirkuk issue, which is at the heart of the problem of trying to get their provincial elections law passed.

So while we've been trying to work on the agreement, they've been improving their capabilities. We've had the Basra raid, Mosul raid, Sadr City. And so the Iraqi security forces are improving. And so we're trying to figure out how do we continue to develop a broad-based relationship, one that is based on the respect of both sovereign nations, in a way that can help foster this democracy, and not move too fast, too soon, to disrupt any efforts to cement the gains that we've made.

So it's just taking a little bit longer. But they continue to meet, the negotiators continue to meet, and Prime Minister Maliki and the President keep in touch through their negotiators and also via their secure video teleconferences that they have every other week. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: Well, certainly the message of the people who came to see the President is continuing concerns about the situation in China. For example, Reviya Kadeer, who is a Uighur from Western China, talked about the fact that some of her children are still being harassed; at least one of her children is in prison; that she is worried that the Chinese authorities will use the excuse of security, from her point of view, to harass even further the Uighur people.

And I think that is a legitimate concern. I think that the Chinese, while they have legitimate security concerns for the Olympics, have got to be careful that they respect the rights of all of their citizens, including their minorities.

Bob Fu, the pastor from Midland, Texas, who is very close to the house church movement in China, expressed his concerns about the fact that, as I was saying earlier, house churches in China are not registered at this point. And one of the things that he would argue that should happen is the beginning of registration of those house churches who want to be registered. I think that's an important message to the Chinese government, as well.

I don't want to go through all of the different activists and their views. But basically, it was a message that, keep up what you are doing with the Chinese government. Keep talking to the Chinese government about these issues. Open the door to religious freedom, and other freedoms more.

Some of them, quite candidly, obviously had a different view from the President on whether he should be going to the Olympics. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, I think we talked about this a week ago or two weeks ago, when we -- I'm not going to negotiate from the podium, but I can tell you that what we're trying to do is figure out what sort of aspirational goals we could look towards so that we could start to -- well, continue bringing more troops home based on successful implementation of our strategy. And trying to figure out what that horizon is just takes a little bit of time. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: Some of them said that they had concerns that he was adding legitimacy to the Chinese government. The President simply said that while that is a concern, I also feel that by being there, by talking to the Chinese people, by honoring the Chinese people with my presence there, I can do more good. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: You know, things change almost every day and they make some progress, and just like in any negotiation you get close and then there's a little bit of a step back, and then you get a little bit closer. So we'll keep you updated, but I don't have anything imminent to announce for you yet.

Roger. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: Well, I think one of the dilemmas of this issue is that people want us to have influence on the Chinese government. They want us to take actions that move the Chinese government in certain directions. If you don't have a good working relationship with the Chinese government, how do you do that? And the President's answer would be, I need to be able to sit down with these leaders. I need to be able to look Hu Jintao directly and say, for you to progress, for China to move to that future of full attainment of the harmonious society you talk about, you must open up. You must allow people their individual rights, their individual creativity, their individual expression. If you don't, our experience, the experience of the world is, you won't get to that point.

So it's not that we're saying these are American values that you must import. That is not the message the President ever gives. Rather, it is the message of, if you want to achieve the full potential of your people, our experience is, and the experience of most of the world is that you've got to do this. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I just couldn't put a time frame on it. If I told you "yes" or "no," then inevitably I'd be wrong. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q When we hear that the President plans to carry a message of political freedom to Beijing, that

MR. WILDER: Well, you can deliver the message of freedom without politicizing the events of the Games. The President will have diplomatic meetings with the Chinese leadership that are separate from the Games, and in those meetings with the Chinese leaders he will, of course, bring up these issues.

Similarly, when he goes to church on Sunday, he will make a statement afterwards in which he discusses his view on religious freedom in China. So that isn't politicizing the Games. He will not go to the stadiums and do anything that is particularly related to these issues, but he will while he's in Beijing, as he always has done, make clear his views on these issues. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: We're just -- we're working on it, Roger. I couldn't put a time frame on it. But they're nearing the end of the negotiations, and so that's why it's a quite intense period right now.

Jon. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: I think that the schedule is still being worked through. I don't want to rule anything in, and I'm not prepared to rule everything out at this point. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Yes, on drilling, Republicans, the White House, you guys have been hitting this note pretty consistently

MS. PERINO: I don't think so. I think that it's apples and oranges. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Just to follow up, some of the human rights activists in this country have noted that ahead of

MR. WILDER: I think what we are looking for in China is not gestures. We are looking for structural change. We are looking for long-term change. The freeing of an individual prisoner, while very gratifying in its own right and certainly with their families and others, is not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal here is to get the Chinese government to see that it is in their interest to free up their society.

So individual gestures are not what I'm looking for. Now, I think we are looking for the Chinese at these Games to show that they are making progress, to demonstrate to the world -- the spotlight is on Beijing; this is an opportunity for Beijing to show that it is widening the door of freedom of press, freedom of expression.

For example, the Chinese have announced that there will be protest areas. We very much hope that those protest areas will be open not only to Chinese citizens, but to foreigners. We hope that the rules for operating within those protest areas are open enough that those who want to protest can. We hope that these protest areas are truly like those areas that have been allowed at other Olympics. That has yet to be demonstrated, I think, that the Chinese are truly moving in that direction.

Similarly, there have been questions about the access to the Internet and other issues at the Olympic centers. We think the Chinese government needs to heed those concerns; that if China is going to demonstrate it is truly moving forward as a modern society, this is part of it. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: When it comes to -- Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: I am disappointed that they clamped down on the Internet. Obviously I would like to see all these political prisoners that we have on our list released. We have handed the Chinese lists of people that we think are unfairly imprisoned, and we'd like to see them released. Am I disappointed at that? Yes. But my point is, it's not just about these individuals. It's about the broader problems of China. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, I think when you're talking about drilling for our natural resources in the Outer Continental Shelf or in ANWR, or developing oil shale, that people would see that quite differently from somebody being indicted on totally unrelated issues. So that's why I call it apples and oranges.

But I do think that we've made progress. And the reason that we have is because there's been a concerted effort to educate Americans who recognize the issue. They understand the law of supply and demand. They recognize that we have resources here in our own country that we know best how to tap into. And I think that they're quite sick and tired of telling other countries that they should deplete their resources in order to feed our habit -- our appetite for oil and gas.

So you'll hear the President talk about that a little bit tomorrow. But in addition to that, we face a similar future in the power see issues when it comes to permitting and streamlining, the issues of nuclear power or even coal, clean coal technologies. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q If I could ask sort of two parts of the question. First, you mentioned the Internet restrictions

MR. WILDER: The President will not have bilateral meetings in Beijing with other foreign leaders. I think it's fair to say that Prime Minister Putin and the President will probably spend a few minutes together socially. But the President is going for the Games and not to do a series of bilateral meetings.

On your question of whether or not we've gone into the Chinese -- frankly I've been in meetings all afternoon. I have not been in contact with either State Department or the embassy in Beijing today on this issue, so I can't answer that yet. I am sure that we will be talking to the Chinese about these kinds of issues, and we have been talking to them. So -- but I don't know what exactly has been done today on this issue. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I don't know. I'd refer you over to the Senate -- as Kathleen just said, they apparently just made some very serious progress, if it's true that they are going to be allowed to vote on these measures. So I think that that answers the question. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: North Korea -- we are obviously all aware that the President talked about the de-listing of the North Koreans from the state sponsors of terrorism if the North Koreans agree to a verification protocol that included the plutonium program, the highly enriched uranium activities, and the proliferation efforts. At this point, we don't have that agreement yet. We are still in discussion with the North Koreans on this issue. The six-party -- all the members of the six-party are in these discussions, and we are looking for the North to come back to us and agree to the kind of protocol that all of the rest of the six-party participants believe is necessary.

We have a little more than 10 days left before the first opportunity for the President to open that window and de-list the North. We hope to hear from the North in this period of time that they will agree to the kinds of measures that are absolutely essential to verify what they have done in the nuclear area. So we are waiting to hear the North's response. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Go ahead. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: The President would like to hear that the North accepts, whenever they accept, whether he's in Thailand, South Korea, or Beijing. I will say that without this action, which we hope the North will take, the de-listing will not occur on that time line. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Thank you, Dana. Two questions. Senator Cornyn has said that the President "must step forward

MS. PERINO: All I would do, Les, is point you back to what we have said before, which is there is a process in which people in our country can ask a President of the United States for a commutation of their sentence, and that process can take place if those individuals want it to. And I would also point you to the U.S. Court of Appeals, who just recently ruled on that decision. I would encourage you to take a look at it. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: Right. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I would refer you to DOD. I really haven't talked about that before. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: No. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: I don't -- no. I don't.

Laurent, please. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: No, the window for doing this remains open. The President has notified the Congress of his intent to de-list, but there is no sort of closure on that. Once he has given the notification, and Congress has acceded to -- then the President -- actually, it's the Secretary of State who will ultimately send this notification to Congress that we have actually de-listed, but the President will instruct the Secretary of State. But he can wait on that notification. There is no -- I'm not aware of any deadline on that. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: There has not been in the last several days. And so I saw that he announced that there was going to be an announcement. I'm going to let him make it, and then we'll comment after that. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: The 45 days is to give Congress a chance to comment, and to react to the President's decision. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Since that's a hypothetical question, let me just let him make his announcement and then I'll come back.

Go ahead, Paula. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: First of all, we have offered a great deal of American assistance to the Chinese on Olympic security. We will operate with them in Beijing in this area. We are very confident, having had a very good dialogue with the Chinese on this issue, that they have made significant preparations. So we think that the security for these Games is in good order. But everybody needs to remain alert and ensure the safety of all those who participate. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: We're still taking a look at it. We do think that the consumer product safety bill moved in our direction a little bit on some of the issues that we were concerned about. That doesn't mean we don't have some concerns that remain. So that's why we're taking a look at it. They made headway addressing some of the problematic issues, such as the ones that Secretary Leavitt put out in -- I think his letter came out I think Friday or Monday, Paula. I'd refer you to that letter because it lays it out pretty clearly. And then we'll get back to you later today once we have an answer on whether or not we'll be able to sign that deal -- that bill.

Goyal. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q Can you describe a little bit more the President's plans for attending church? Is it going to

MR. WILDER: What I can say is that it's a different church than the one he attended the last time he was in Beijing. And it is a church that we were interested in attending in part because it has actually a connection to many of these house churches. In other words, the church operates as a learning center for many of these house church pastors. And so the President is eager to go and hear about their efforts to work with those other pastors. And I can get you the name later; I don't have it right here right now. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: Well, I briefed immediately following that meeting on Monday, so I'd refer you to my briefing. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MR. WILDER: No, no, no, no. It's a registered church in Beijing. MR. JOHNDROE: Last one in the back. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

MS. PERINO: He was updated on that in his regular briefings and he expresses his condolences for all the innocent people who lost their lives or were injured. And we stand with the Prime Minister of India as they try to root out and seek out these terrorists. I know that they're looking for them very hard, and we'll help in any way that we can. Read more Comment (0), Email this.

Q There's a lot of interest in Taiwan about Admiral Keating's comments, that there's a freeze by

MR. WILDER: Well, first of all, there is no change in American policy toward Taiwan, toward arms sales to Taiwan. This term "freeze," I'm not sure where it came from, but it is not a term we have ever used in the administration. We have a commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to help Taiwan with its own defense. We continue to live up to that commitment. There are many engagements between the United States military and Taiwan military. Those are ongoing. Nothing has been frozen in this relationship. There are many discussions that take place at various levels with the Taiwan military on their military needs. We are evaluating those needs, and we will notify Congress of our decisions on various arms sales at the appropriate times.

But I think there has been a misunderstanding in the press that somehow we have put this relationship on hold. That is not true. In fact, I would note -- I was reading a article in the Taiwan press just today about a non-commissioned officer of the Taiwan military, a woman, who has just graduated from the non-commissioned officers course at Quantico.

So we continue to have very robust relations with the Taiwan military. We continue to assist them with their self-defense needs, and that is the policy of the United States government. MR. JOHNDROE: Thank you. Read more Comment (0), Email this.