First the announcer said the US military band would greet President Hu Jintao of PRC with the "national anthem" of ROC. Then a lady Falun Gong practitioner hacked Hu during his speech on the White House lawn for three good minutes. It turns out the same female spiritual cultivator, who five years ago had been denied media credentials in Malta (a country in Europe), also slipped through a security cordon protecting former Chinese President Jiang Zemin and caused disruption there. You know what Sam, this whole episode actually makes me laugh out rolling. In the spirit of "friendship and good will," read on. (Side note: Yao didn't attend the White House luncheon, as previously reported.) China and Its President Greeted by a Host of Indignities http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/20/AR2006042001946.html By Dana Milbank Friday, April 21, 2006; Page A02 Chinese President Hu Jintao got almost everything he wanted out of yesterday's visit to the White House. He got the 21-gun salute, the review of the troops and the Colonial fife-and-drum corps. He got the exchange of toasts and a meal of wild-caught Alaskan halibut with mushroom essence, $50 chardonnay and live bluegrass music. And he got an Oval Office photo op with President Bush, who nodded and smiled as if he understood Chinese while Hu spoke. If only the White House hadn't given press credentials to a Falun Gong activist who five years ago heckled Hu's predecessor, Jiang Zemin, in Malta. Sure enough, 90 seconds into Hu's speech on the South Lawn, the woman started shrieking, "President Hu, your days are numbered!" and "President Bush, stop him from killing!" Bush and Hu looked up, stunned. It took so long to silence her -- a full three minutes -- that Bush aides began to wonder if the Secret Service's strategy was to let her scream herself hoarse. The rattled Chinese president haltingly attempted to continue his speech and television coverage went to split screen. "You're okay," Bush gently reassured Hu. But he wasn't okay, not really. The protocol-obsessed Chinese leader suffered a day full of indignities -- some intentional, others just careless. The visit began with a slight when the official announcer said the band would play the "national anthem of the Republic of China" -- the official name of Taiwan. It continued when Vice President Cheney donned sunglasses for the ceremony, and again when Hu, attempting to leave the stage via the wrong staircase, was yanked back by his jacket. Hu looked down at his sleeve to see the president of the United States tugging at it as if redirecting an errant child. Then there were the intentional slights. China wanted a formal state visit such as Jiang got, but the administration refused, calling it instead an "official" visit. Bush acquiesced to the 21-gun salute but insisted on a luncheon instead of a formal dinner, in the East Room instead of the State Dining Room. Even the visiting country's flags were missing from the lampposts near the White House. But as protocol breaches go, it's hard to top the heckling of a foreign leader at the White House. Explaining the incident -- the first disruption at the executive mansion in recent memory -- White House and Secret Service officials said she was "a legitimate journalist" and that there was nothing suspicious in her background. In other words: Who knew? Hu did. The Chinese had warned the White House to be careful about who was admitted to the ceremony. To no avail: They granted a one-day pass to Wang Wenyi of the Falun Gong publication Epoch Times. A quick Nexis search shows that in 2001, she slipped through a security cordon in Malta protecting Jiang (she had been denied media credentials) and got into an argument with him. The 47-year-old pathologist is expected to be charged today with attempting to harass a foreign official. Bush apologized to the angry Chinese leader in the Oval Office. "Frankly, we moved on," National Security Council official Dennis Wilder told reporters later. It was, he said, a "momentary blip." Maybe, but Hu was in no mood to make concessions. In negotiations, he gave the U.S. side nothing tangible on delicate matters such as the nuclear problems in North Korea and Iran, the Chinese currency's value and the trade deficit with China. Wilder pleaded for understanding. "Some people today want to see a quick fix to the trade imbalance," he explained. "But in the new global economy there is no quick fix." In the arrival ceremony, Bush, after leading Hu on a review of the troops, welcomed him to the White House. Hu clapped for himself. He was less enthusiastic about the long list of demands Bush made in his welcome speech: expand Chinese consumption of U.S. goods, enforce intellectual property rights, and allow freedom to assemble, speak and worship. Hu's reply was overshadowed by what the White House transcript politely called an "audience interruption," as if somebody had sneezed. The meeting in the Oval Office brought more of the same. In front of the cameras, Bush thanked Hu for his "frankness" -- diplomatic code for disagreement -- and Hu stood expressionless. The two unexpectedly agreed to take questions from reporters, but Bush grew impatient as Hu gave a long answer about trade, made all the longer by the translation. Bush at one point tapped his foot on the ground. "It was a very comprehensive answer," he observed when Hu finished. Last came the unofficial state luncheon. After the butter heirloom corn broth and the ginger-scented dumplings had been consumed, Hu rose with a toast that proclaimed he and Bush had "reached a broad and important agreement on China-U.S. relations." The White House didn't see it that way. Instead of a statement about a new accord with China, it issued a press release titled "MEDICARE CHECK-UP: Prescription Drug Benefit Enrollment Hits 30 Million . . . ." Research editor Lucy Shackelford contributed to this report.
They did some of these shenanigans to Bush too when he visited China (I'm too lazy to dig up the old articles). I don't know why they even bother with these phony diplomatic meetings. Nothing was accomplished. Nada. If anything, the course remains the same: We are no friends of China and they certainly are no friends of ours. They should have been straight foward with each other. Just shake hands with our leaders posing for photos and then let Hu go back to chilling with our super rich.
Oh yeah, you mean PRC played 'God Save The King' to greet George, and then later some Freedom Fighter showed up at Bush's speech? That's new to me.
Nah, not the same exact thing but other little stuff to irk the president. These are just two that comes off the top of my head. Remember when Bush tried to exit a audience of Chinese students in China and he couldn't open the door (supposedly he went the wrong way). And in some other clip I remember he was taking open questions from Chinese students (in china) and I know the questions were not too flattering. I don't remember the exact words of the questions but I do remember thinking at the time those questions disrepectfully put Bush on the spot. I'm pretty sure there were others but I don't have all of this saved up in my head. I do remember that after Bush finished his tour of China I said to myself, "We are probably going to zing Hu somehow back in the states." Look, the basic point is that any meetings between our two presidents should be kept at an absolute urgent basis only.
How do expect the relations between the two countries to get better if they never meet? China in my opinion is the next superpower and I would prefer that these two nations work out the problems they have; it only makes it better for the rest of the world (look what happened because of the cold war).
"President Bush! Stop him from killing" "Who?" "Yes!" "Who is 'Yas'?" "No, Hu is a murderer!" "That's what I'm asking you!!!!!"
That's a pretty lame excuse. See for yourself: http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060419-110437-2321r.htm http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060420-121646-9379r.htm
You do realize the Washington Times is a joke of a newspaper owned by a religious kook, don't you wnes?
It's corroborated by another newspaper, which is hardly a joke. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/HC18Ad01.html
Actually its a fairly well established doctrine that meetings between countries should occur on lower levels. That way you have diplomats trained to deal with interpersonal issues filtering out all the crap for the people who make decisions, and the people who make decisions only being presented with the relevant info. You don't want international relations to become personal feuds.
They apparently got on his case to do something about the Japanese and the Yasukuni Shrine several times, which seems a bit odd considering Bush isn't the president of Japan.
Sometimes the leader must stand up and be a leader -- take a stand directly calling out the other leader. It does work
WTF? You can't ask a foreign leader questions at a photo op? Isn't she exercising her right to free speech?
Sounded more like a screaming diatribe than asking the Chinese President a question. I don't think the woman should be charged with anything, however. Considering how damned sensitive the Chinese are to any percieved slight (different culture), I agree with wnes that the visit could have been handled better. If Bush wasn't treated as well as he could have been in China (I thought his attempted "escape" from the stage was hilarious, but whatever...), we could have been diplomatic and shown them how it was done, instead of apparently pandering to Bush's base. (if that was the case, and it sounds like it was) When it comes to foreign policy, the Bush Administration is a disaster. Heck, they are a disaster with domestic policy, in my opinion. They must be good at something! Can't think of what, at the moment. Keep D&D Civil.
LOL, I didn't know Epoch Times was a falun gong paper. I always saw it at the gym and was wondering what the hell it was or who made it. I can just imagine the comical scene of Bush and Cheney trying to placate an infuriated Hu. "it's ok buddy, hu, you're my buddy! It's cool man!"
It continued when Vice President Cheney donned sunglasses for the ceremony __________ Well at least Cheney didn't take Hu hunting.
