Updates from Hu protests in Washington, DC
Noisy and colorful protests by Tibetans, Uighurs, Chinese democracy advocates and Falun Gong practitioners are underway in Washington, DC as President Bush meets with Hu Jintao. See below for links and excerpts from news articles reporting on the day’s events. Keep checking back for updates and photos.
Photos from Thursday’s protest in DC (photos available in full size, click on image in right hand column above)
Financial Times: Protestor pierces pomp laid on for Hu (this is great, talks about how Chinese media censors blacked out sections of Hu's speech because of the protest).
In China, the censors who monitor incoming foreign satellite broadcasts around the clock blacked out large sections of Mr Hu’s speech on the BBC and CNN in order to ensure that the protester was not seen. CCTV, China’s national broadcaster, telecast the opening ceremony live but did not show the protester. However, Chinese using the internet were able to see it by logging into the websites of US news organisations.
As officials exited the White House there was still no escape from the protesters. Dozens of them lined the fence. Dressed in bright pastel pink and blue silk pyjamas they sang tunelessly and thrust Falun Gong pamphlets at passers-by. Others waved “Free Tibet� signs. A day that was supposed to be defined by the pomp is more likely to be remembered for the protests.
Reuters: China's Hu draws Falun Gong, Tibet, Taiwan Protests
WASHINGTON, April 20 - Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the White House on Thursday drew hundreds of protesters, from yellow-clad Falun Gong disciples to Taiwanese nationalists waving green flags and Tibetan youth groups.
Outside the White House, protesters denounced China's human rights record, its missile build-up near Taiwan and its 55-year-long rule over the Himalayan Buddhist region of Tibet.
Associated Press: Protestor disrupts Hu arrival ceremony (great video coverage of the protest)
A welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn for Hu’s first visit as Chinese leader was briefly marred by the screams of a woman critical of the Chinese president. And hundreds of demonstrators massed outside to protest Beijing’s human-rights policies. A woman standing in a section where photographers were taking pictures appealed to Bush to stop the Chinese president from "persecuting the Falun Gong." The woman began shouting from the top of a camera stand that was located directly in front of the two leaders. She shouted 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 "You're OK" to the Chinese leader, who paused briefly when the shouting began and then resumed his remarks. 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 dragged her off the stand and across the White House grounds in front of others who had come by invitation to witness the event. Outside the White House gates, Falun Gong gathered hundreds of demonstrators. Marchers banged gongs, chanted and waved American and Chinese flags. Banners denounced Hu as a "Chinese dictator" responsible for genocide and other "crimes in Chinese labor camps and prisons." Times Online: Protest Punctures Mr Hu's welcome to the White House
Falun Gong supporter disrupts speech
NBC: Bush, Hu Agree To Disagree as Friends (with video footage of protest)
Forbes: Trade Gap and Currency Top Bush, Hu Agenda
National Review Online: Google...China...and US
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