Pelosi, U.S. delegation tour China's financial hub

SHANGHAI -- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, long a fierce critic of Beijing, toured China's financial capital Monday on a visit focused on environmental issues rather than human rights.

Pelosi took a low-key approach as she prepared for meetings in Beijing just days ahead of the 20th anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square democracy protests.

President Obama has emphasized engagement with Beijing, rather than confrontation over its human rights record. Visits by Pelosi and other senior U.S. figures have been aimed at highlighting cooperation between the two countries on a slew of issues.

Still, the leading Democratic lawmaker's reputation as a strong human rights defender galvanized petitioners in Beijing, where several hundred gathered Monday morning near the capital's South Railway Station to air their grievances. Dozens of police stood guard. Most protesters were kept behind police lines.

Although many complaints were about individual cases, photos posted on the Chinese-language website Boxun.com, a U.S.-hosted Internet site banned in China, showed one group of demonstrators holding up a black-and-white cloth banner that said: "Welcome Pelosi. Pay close attention to human rights. SOS."

Speaking to U.S. business figures in Shanghai, Pelosi noted her commitment to human rights issues over the years.

During a 1991 visit to Beijing, Pelosi unfurled a banner that read, "To those who died for democracy in China" in the square. Years later, she attempted to present human rights petitions to then-visiting President Hu Jintao. When Tibetans staged protests against Chinese rule last year, Pelosi visited their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

"I will continue to speak out for human rights in China and around the world," Pelosi told members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

"Indeed, protecting the environment is a human rights issue," she said, according to a copy of the speech distributed to journalists. "We hope to send a clear message that transparency, accountability, enforcement and respect for the rule of law are essential if we are to protect our planet," she added.