President Bush expressed personal regret to Chinese President Hu Jintao for a protest during an elaborate welcoming ceremony on the White House lawn Thursday. The protester interrupted the ceremony by shouting to Bush to stop the Chinese president from "persecuting the Falun Gong." Bush later addressed the matter when he met with Hu in the Oval Office. "He just said this was unfortunate and I'm sorry it happened," said Dennis Wilder, acting senior director for Asian affairs on the National Security Council staff. Wilder said Hu was gracious in accepting Bush's apology. The two leaders moved on in their talks and it was not mentioned again in several hours of meetings. Hu and Bush sat next to each other at an elaborate luncheon _ a departure from traditional protocol, which would have them at different tables. Chinese leaders place high importance on symbolism and protocol. White House officials have worked with Chinese counterparts for months on every detail of Hu's visit. "I would be extremely surprised if the Chinese blamed us for this," Wilder said. The woman began shouting from the top of a camera stand that had been erected in front of the two leaders on the South Lawn. The Secret Service identified her as Wenyi Wang, 47. Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin said that she had been charged with disorderly conduct and that a charge of intimidating or disrupting foreign officials was also being considered. Mackin said she had gained access to the event with a temporary White House pass and had been cleared through all the appropriate levels of security. Stephen Gregory, a spokesman for the Falun Gong-affiliated newspaper The Epoch Times, said she had received a press credential through the newspaper. He identified her as a doctor with a specialty in pathology, a Falun Gong practitioner based in New York. She shouted in Chinese and in heavily accented English: "President Bush, stop him from killing" and "President Bush, stop him from persecuting the Falun Gong." Bush, standing next to Hu, leaned over and whispered to him, "You're OK," indicating the Chinese leader should proceed with his opening remarks. Hu, who had paused briefly when the shouting began, resumed speaking. The protester was waving a banner with the red and yellow colors used by Falun Gong, a banned religious movement in China. She kept shouting for several minutes before Secret Service agents were able to make their way to her position at the top of the camera stand. They led her off the stand. A photographer who was standing next to the protester tried momentarily to quiet her by putting his hand in front of her mouth. "It's hugely embarrassing," said Derek Mitchell, a former Asia adviser at the Pentagon and now an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. China "must know that this Bush administration is good at controlling crowds for themselves, and the fact that they couldn't control this is going to play to their worst fears and suspicions about the United States, into mistrust about American intentions toward China." A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy said he was too busy to talk when contacted for comment on the heckling. Gregory, the spokesman for the Falun Gong-affiliated newspaper, said, "We expected her to act as a reporter; we didn't expect her to protest. None of us had any idea that Dr. Wang was planning this."
And just a few moments earlier, he called for more freedoms for China's citizens, saying the country "can grow even more successful by allowing the Chinese people the freedom to assemble, to speak freely, and to worship." If that wasn't bad enough, the anouncer, prior to the playing of the 2 nation's national anthems, refered to China as "The Republic of China" which is what Taiwan calls itself (China is known as "The People's Republic of China"). After those 2 embarrassing goofs, he's an idiot for being optimistic.
When the Chinaman arrived at the White House Bush made him wait on the front lawn for 10 minutes before he finally came out. Being a Korean War Vet I'm no fan of the Chinese regime but that was an insult. ...Rennick out
3 goofs then. Well, 4, if you want to count the remarks by W before the heckle and the subsequent heckle as 2 seperate goofs.
China is going to be the BIG DOG in a few years. They will rule the next 100 years. You can bet the farm China will smash Japan to retribution for the horrors Japan used on the Chinese peoples as Japan had misguided plans for pacific control. Japan was even suckered into a plan by Hitler to keep the USA out of the war. Truman has other ideas for japans war plans and never surrender silliness. The world never learns. The Chinese are real. Look at the USA military budget and review history. world powers fall from within, Russia being the latest example. China will control the far east and rise up faster than many can imagine, watch as time goes by and as the value of China money appreciates and other currencies fall in value. And for the China gal that rose up and spoke out, more power to her, she is a champion.
The last time she tried was in September last year when Hu Jintao came to New-York and Seattle for the <i>General Assembly</i> and <i>World Summit</i>. The UN denied her a press pass so she had to protest outside. http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/5-9-3/31879.html
Jintao and Bush dressed with the same power suit. Also interesting (and it's the first time I see this) how Jintao is resisting to the final effect of the heads of state handshake in the Oval Office where Bush always sits straight up in front of the cameras while the foreign head of state has to twist and lean over like a beggar for his right hand to reach the hand of the American king. <img src="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/images/20050913-8_f1g7261-515h.jpg"/> http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/images/20050913-8_f1g7261-515h.html
Lou: "What's the name of that Chinese guy at the White House?" Bud: "Hu." Lou: "The guy talking to Bush?" Bud: "Hu." Lou: "You know, the President of China?" Bud: "You are talking about Hu." Lou: [frustration starting to show] "THAT'S what I want to KNOW!" Bud: "Hu is the President of China." Lou: [very frustrated now] "I DON'T KNOW! THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING!" ... ...
Maybe...maybe not. China is beginning to have a credible space exploration program. At the instant that this program poses the real possibility of the Chinese gaining the literal high ground, the entire U.S. Military Industrial Complex will weigh in and we will be back in the same panic mode that exsisted during the Kennedy years. If we successfully restart our space program and retake the lead in space, we will remain the preeminent power on Earth. Otherwise, we won't. As an example of this, few people understand that a small asteroid aimed and directed at a location on Earth will impact with the same explosive force as a nuclear weapon only without any radiocative residue. This is the real ultimate weapon because it can be destroy an enemy without significant danger to the rest of human civilization. The D.C. think tank people know this very well. It's just that they can't motivate the government to act absent a real threat to U.S. supremacy. But, if the Chinese start to appear to have a shot at a sustained presence in orbit or on the Moon, everything will change, and we will be in the midst of a new space race for power. And the winner will take all.