First lady Michelle Obama stresses freedom of spee

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First lady Michelle Obama stresses freedom of spee

First lady Michelle Obama stresses freedom of speech in China

*A Chinese student takes pictures with an iPhone of Michelle Obama after the first lady delivered a speech Saturday in Beijing (. Feng Li, Getty Images AsiaPac)*

BEIJING — First lady Michelle Obama told students in China, which has some of the world's tightest restrictions on the Internet, that freedom of speech and unfettered access to information make countries stronger and should be universal rights.

Obama was speaking Saturday at Peking University in Beijing during a weeklong trip aimed at promoting educational exchanges between the U.S. and China. The trip took on political overtones when she was granted a previously unscheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.

Obama said the free flow of information is crucial "because that's how we discover truth, that's how we learn what's really happening in our communities and our country and our world.

"And that's how we decide which values and ideas we think are best — by questioning and debating them vigorously, by listening to all sides of every argument and by judging for ourselves," she said.

China blocks many foreign news sites and social media services such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Its army of censors filters out information deemed offensive by the government and silences dissenting voices.

Though not likely to be well-received by the government, Obama's remarks might not draw any strong protest because her speech and a subsequent moderated discussion among 50 students — sitting in two identical conference rooms in Beijing and Palo Alto, Calif., but connected via modern technology — focused mainly on the value of educational exchanges.

In her speech, the first lady said her husband has launched an initiative to send more American students with diverse backgrounds to China.

"Our hope is to build connections between people of all races and socio-economic backgrounds because it is that diversity that truly will change the face of our relationships," Obama said.

Her meeting Friday with Xi, though not unexpected, was not originally part of the itinerary for her seven-day, three-city trip to China and was a sign that the leaders of the world's two largest economies are seeking to build stronger bonds.

Xi said he cherished the "personal friendship" he has established with President Barack Obama, and the first lady thanked him for his hospitality.

The trip, the first time a U.S. president's wife has independently visited China, also has given Obama an opportunity to engage with Xi's wife, Peng Liyuan.

As a popular singer, Peng was better known than her husband before Xi was named Communist Party leader and president, and she has used her celebrity to promote AIDS awareness and other causes as China seeks to soften its international image.